Sytravious: The Lost Warlock Of Moruz (The Oathbreaker Book 1) (13 page)

              The early morning birds began to chirp in anticipation of the morning light that crept up on the horizon. 

              “Wow, it is already morning!  You must get going,” she advised.

              “I do not even feel the least bit tired, but you are right, I need to leave before the sun comes up.”  He got on his feet, and reached under his cloak.

              “Thank you for staying with me, Sytravious.  I enjoyed spending time with you and hope to see you again soon.”

              “There is no need to hope, I will definitely be back soon.  That is a promise.”  He surprised her when he leaned in and placed a light kiss on her forehead.  “Be well my priestess, until we meet again.”  He placed an object in her hand, before he turned and vanished into the perimeter of weeping trees. 

              Raiven could still feel the kiss on her forehead.  She was bursting with happiness and hugged herself before recalling he had given her something.  She opened her hand and saw a small pouch in her palm.  Inside she found a golden necklace with an orb shaped, amber colored locket attached.  Her mouth dropped open in shock.  How could he afford such a beautiful piece of jewelry?  Thinking about how he must have used his entire savings to buy her such a gift made her heart ache. 

              She popped open the locket and noticed a small piece of parchment tucked inside, which she took out and read.  “You are the light in my darkness.”  Raiven pressed the jewelry and note to her heart and squealed with delight.

Chapter 12

Dark Revelations

I
t was a cooler night than usual in Havencrest.  The chilly sea breeze blew through the city and many people had lit fires to keep warm.  The Dew Drop Inn was no exception.  Sytravious sat closest to the fireplace while he sipped his drink.  Tonight Bryce and Elric joined him so they could all catch up.  Even though he preferred to be a loner, Sytravious had come to know the brothers well over the past few years.  Ever since the day he decided to help them out during a street scuffle, the trio had become close friends.

              “You would think old man Ross would clean out the chimney once in a while.”  Bryce coughed.  “The smoke from this damn fire is killing me.  Why is it even on?  It is not that cold.”

              Elric mumbled, “Not everyone is well insulated with layers of muscle and hair like you.  Looking like that, you could easily be mistaken for a womach.”

              “Oh you have got jokes, huh?”  Bryce reached over and punched his brother in the arm.  “Compare me to those beasts all you want, at least I have the strength to take one on.”

              Sytravious smirked as he swirled his liquor around his glass.  He was used to the brothers’ bickering, but rather than join in the jests, he chose to use this opportunity to gauge Elric’s progress with the investigation.  Though the warden had previously announced the likely suspects of the killings were womachs, during their last meeting, Elric had brought up the fact that the case was still open. 

              “Speaking of womachs, have you finally closed that case involving the attacks from a few weeks ago?”

              “Listen, we all know womachs are a threat to the kingdom, especially here in Havencrest.  With the mangy creatures prowling around the Foxfire Woods, it is easy to blame such a horrific act on them.”  Elric paused to furrow his brow and shake his head.  “But I do not believe it was them.  Something is amiss and I am trying to understand what it is because Kenshiro has been badgering me about my findings, and I have yet to come to a satisfactory conclusion.” 

              The fact that Elric was adamant about unearthing the underlying cause of what had happened, worried him.  He knew his friend was smart and persistent, it is how he rose to the rank of Constable, but this was not the time for Elric to demonstrate his intelligence. 

              “Wow, the general must be ready to close the case by now.  I just figured since it has been a while, you would have been done with it already.  Everyone already believes it was womachs anyways,” Sytravious explained, trying to hide his concern.

              “I know, but with all the evidence we have discovered, along with another mysterious murder only days ago, I do not know what to make of it.”

              “Another death?”

              Bryce nodded, while his brother responded.  “I take it you are wise enough to keep this information to yourself, because you know I am not supposed to discuss an open investigation with you.”

              “Of course, you have my word.”  Sytravious’ ears perked up, and he was ready to take note of every detail his friend was about to share. 

              Elric spoke in a hushed voice, “You know as well as anyone that a death in the slums is not anything unusual, and I would not have been suspicious if the man had not been killed in the exact same bizarre manner as one of the men from the Foxfire murders.  The murderer tried to cover up what happened, but there is no hiding the crime.  The victim even had the same piece of skin cut from his arm as the other five from the woods, which links them to each other.  Then add in the fact that I found legionnaire coins on the first five men, which tells me they are from Moruz.  Deductive reasoning would imply all six men were soldiers from there.  What I am having trouble figuring out is why a group of legionnaires would be wandering through the Foxfire Woods, and later in the slums.”

“That is odd.  What possibilities have you come up with?”  Sytravious inquired.

“We are still awaiting the sorcery report from Cleary Court to substantiate our findings, but I am sure of what the conclusion will say.  Though General Kenshiro does not agree, I know better.  I say two of the men died by the VanDrake black flame.”

“The VanDrake black flame?”  Sytravious tried his best to seem indifferent, but he had never heard his parents refer to the family magic by such a name.  He wanted to know more about how his friend was able to reach that hypothesis.

“Yes, it was that old, cursed magic which caused their demise and I will tell you how I know.  When I was very young, my father told me about how my grandmother passed.”

Bryce interrupted, “He never told me what happened.” 

“That is because he only discussed it once, and you were only a baby at the time.  May I continue now?”

Bryce grunted and kept drinking his ale as he stared off into the fire.  Elric narrowed his eyes at his brother before continuing his story.

“When King Ilan first decreed that all western magic be outlawed in Valcrest, many in Moruz were upset by the new law, but none more than Lord Byronicus.  In an act of retaliation, he declared war on our kingdom.  Moruz armies made landfall in Havencrest and began the invasion.  The king rallied forces in order to stop them before they could reach Cleary Court.” 

“At the time he was only a prince, but Lucas made a brilliant stand at the gates of Havencrest.  Byronicus did not expect such strength and will from our people.  He thought he would just steamroll right over them, but our forces stood strong.  The High Priestess deflected every type of magic that came from the warlocks, and every priest and priestess of Valcrest helped form a protective shield over the Prince’s armies.  Within a week the siege was over.”

“That sounds like it ended well.  What does it have to do with our grandmother?”  Bryce implored.

“You are right.  It does sound like it ended well, and everyone who knows the tale praises King Ilan for being proactive and sending the forces to Havencrest to fight before the warlock could make it any further.  However, knowing they had wounded Byronicus’ pride, his next move should have been predicted and prevented.  No one cared enough to think beyond the victory!”  Elric slammed his mug onto the table with a look of disgust on his face, causing some wary patrons to look at them with concern. 

“Turn back around,” Bryce snarled at them with excessive anger.

Sytravious watched the men return their glances to their mugs and face the bar again.  Elric hung his head in disillusionment and began to speak after a long stretch of silence.

“On his way out, Byronicus took his anger out on the civilians who resided in the outskirts of the city.  He torched half the homes and killed innocent people with his obscene dark magic.  My father said grandmother was trying to protect him, which cost her life.  He described in vivid detail how the silent black fire shot from Byronicus’ hands towards him.  Grandmother shielded him, and when the flame hit her, she died instantaneously.  He watched in horror as smoke escaped through her nose and mouth.  Her dead eyes were open in shock, exposing the scorched whites of her eyes.  She had been burnt from the inside as a result of Byronicus VanDrake’s black flame.”  Elric let out a deep sigh.  “That is how I know the two victims I found were killed by the same magic.  Their bodies presented the same unmistakable signs.”

The crackling fire filled the quietness that ensued.  Sytravious could hardly accept the troubling story he had just heard.  His mother had told him a much different version of the war, which portrayed Ilan and Lucas as tyrants against the poor persecuted people of Moruz.  She said that when Byronicus came to Valcrest to negotiate peace, he was unfairly ambushed, then chased back to the shore.

Sytravious considered what reason Elric’s father would have to lie to his own son about such a thing.  Then he thought about what reason his mother would have to lie to him, and he knew who seemed to be most likely telling the truth.

“Nevertheless the question as to what they were doing in Havencrest presents itself.  Yes, foreigners pass through the city all the time, but why would they bother to bring the extra attention to themselves right outside the city walls?  What is it that happened while they were traveling through the woods that led them to their death?  Then you must think, whoever committed this crime must have stayed or is staying, lingering in Havencrest tracking every last witness down,” Elric thought aloud. 

Bryce added, “Yes, but how could they be so sure the sixth man would stay in Havencrest?  The sixth man could have fled by boat.  Perhaps he was waiting for more of his companions when the murderer found him to finish the job.”

Elric nodded and said, “He very well could have been awaiting someone or something, when the murderer found him.  But who or what was it?”

Sytravious rubbed his chin and acted as if he was deep in thought.  “Then Elric, I would say your next move would be to question everyone in the area who may have come into contact with the last victim or anyone else who seemed out of place.” 

This was his attempt at throwing his friend off the trail.  He would be able to have his mother make up a story if anyone came around asking questions, but first he would have to convince her that deceiving the constable would be better than killing him.  He did not need his friend added to the death count because of their inability to cover their tracks.  Not killing that last soldier the first time around was really coming back to haunt him.

              “That is exactly what I will have to do, and with any luck, someone will have some useful information for me.  At this point, anything to report to the General will be helpful.  If I let the case get any colder I imagine he will be dismissing me as Constable.”

              “Just keep it up, you are bound to find out something,” Bryce said.

              “Yes, and if you find yourself without a job, we can always use an extra pair of hands in the forge.”  Sytravious laughed and clapped Elric on the shoulder.

              “Right, imagine this string bean in the forge!  You would be better off hiring a girl.”  Bryce nearly choked on his drink while he guffawed at his own joke.

              “Laugh it up, brother.  I would like to believe that it would not have to come to that once the report comes back from the capital.  If it is as I suspected, then we have a major problem on our hands.  Not only would it mean a VanDrake is alive, but that they have been creeping around Havencrest unnoticed.  It could even be Byronicus himself for all we know.”

              “Why would you say that?”  Sytravious asked out of curiosity.

              “Just think, we all were supposed to believe that Byronicus was killed by Fheng, but how can we know for sure?  Even if he did die, he could have had a child we do not know of and they would be destined to be just as evil as he was.  There is no changing a VanDrake.  It is plain to see murder runs in their blood.”

              “That may be true brother, but I think you have done too much theorizing and not enough drinking tonight.  You are not at work and you are putting a damper on my buzz.”

              “Fine, I will be going then.”  Elric gulped down the last few sips of his drink and turned to Sytravious. 

              “My friend, just remember the streets are not safe.  Bryce can protect himself, and soldiers always surround me, but you are just a blacksmith.  I know you can put up a decent fight, but a battle with a VanDrake is one you will lose.  Just be wary of your surroundings because I fear the enemy is among us.”  He stood up and excused himself.

              “As annoying as Elric is, he is right.  You have to be careful.”  Bryce got up, said goodbye, and left.

              Sytravious sat next to the fire long after his friends departed, letting the assorted thoughts swarm his mind.  He had learned about his mother’s magic from a new perspective and it disturbed him.  If Byronicus was the last one to possess the black flame, then that could mean the “family” magic was passed from him to Nyxseous.  Meaning his mother had hid a huge piece of information from him: one of the worst enemies Havencrest has ever known was family and taught her the magic. 

              He did not know how this would affect him, but he needed to talk to someone about it; a person he could trust and confide in.  Sytravious left some money on the table and ran off to meet with the only person who could understand him.