The Rise of Isaac, Books 1-3, page 87
Snowshoe bolted into the trees and Ely pulled back on the reins, stopping Cloud from following at the last second. He raised his palm and shot a ball of electricity at the red bear.
It roared a deep, guttural noise as it was thrown off of Marley, crashing into the ground and skidding along on its side. It righted itself in seconds but Marley had enough time to grab his knife.
The bear leapt through the air and Marley slashed upwards as the creature sailed over his head, missing it by inches.
The beast flew at Cloud and she reared up wildly with an alarmed neigh.
Ely fell forward and had to use both hands to hold onto her neck. His instincts roared at him not to let go but he had to stop the bear. Cloud stamped her feet, shifting nervously from side to side.
"Woah girl," Ely said in as confident a voice as he could manage.
When he found his balance, he lifted one shaking hand and pelted a badly aimed fireball at the bear.
Its fur caught light as the ball skimmed over its back, making it roar angrily and dart away into the trees.
It rolled in the mud to extinguish the flames then turned back towards them. It charged at Cloud and she fled. Ely gripped her neck once more, shouting out in fright. He glanced back to see the bear pursuing them, its lips curled back into a ferocious snarl and its head bent down to aim its horns.
"Go, go!" Ely encouraged the horse, his heartbeat pounding in his ears almost as loud as Cloud's thundering hooves.
She flew into the air to avoid a fallen tree, flying over it with her legs tucked beneath her. She hit the ground at speed. They charged along and Ely pushed himself around but couldn't get a good line of sight at the beast.
Instead, he shot bolts of red light at the trees, making them collapse behind them to block the bear's pursuit.
It ducked and dived, avoiding the falling mass of wood then leapt towards them. Its horns collided with Cloud's leg and she whinnied in pain. Ely's stomach floated as she crashed to the ground.
The wind was forced from Ely's lungs as the horse fell on top of him, his arms pinned beneath her.
The bear stepped up onto Cloud's side and loomed over him, its teeth dripping saliva and its face contorted in a hungry snarl. Ely furiously wriggled his arms as the animal readied to attack.
In a swift lunge, the bear launched forward and Ely screamed.
34
Recruited
The red bear was inches from Ely's face when a blade burst between its eyes and it collapsed dead on top of the horse.
Ely panted heavily and dropped his head back down into the mud in relief.
The beast was heaved off of Cloud and she twisted her body to stand up, holding her bloody back leg off the ground where the horns had penetrated her skin.
Marley took Ely's hand and hauled him to his feet. "Are you alright little mage?" he asked.
"Yes, and less of the little. But thank you for saving my life," Ely panted, running his hands down his chest to heal his bruised ribs.
Snowshoe stood behind Marley, rubbing noses with Cloud and whinnying sadly. Ely stepped up to Cloud and ran green light over her injured leg. She flinched as he touched the wound but didn't run, too hurt or shocked to move away. The skin knitted back together and she planted her hoof on the ground, stamping her foot to test the leg.
Marley gazed in awe at the magic and Ely glanced at him with a half smile.
"We should move, you almost brought the whole forest down, the noise may have alerted the King's men to our presence," Marley said, vaulting himself into Snowshoe's saddle.
Ely hoisted himself up onto Cloud and patted her neck. She glanced back at him and flicked her head up and down in response.
"Follow me," Marley said then trotted on.
Cloud followed and they continued at a fast pace. The trees began to thin and the wildlife seemed content in their surroundings once more.
They journeyed on to the edge of the forest and emerged on a high hill that overlooked the city in the distance. Darkness had begun to fall and the odd snowflake whipped around in the air as the wind picked up. Lights twinkled in the windows of the wooden shacks and small houses that clustered together around the base of the mountain. The sheer, blue walls of the palace rose steeply above them, thrusting into the air like a shard of ice.
Marley led the way to the edge of the city then dismounted from Snowshoe and guided him down a street. Ely copied him, leading Cloud along behind him. The horses' hooves clip-clopped on the roughly made stone streets. Marley took narrow alleys, avoiding the main roads and eventually stopped outside a tavern.
Instead of entering through the front door as Ely expected, Marley ducked down a narrow alley stacked high with boxes of empty bottles and wooden barrels. He knocked on a small wooden door and waited.
A hatch opened, revealing two bright eyes. It snapped shut a second later and the door swung inward, revealing a teenage girl with short-cropped, blonde hair. She had two knives hanging from her hips which she clutched warily.
"Who's he?" She nodded to Ely but kept her eyes on Marley.
"This is Ely Fox. He's a mage. He's here to help us," Marley answered.
The girl nodded then snapped her fingers at someone behind her. A young boy hurried outside and took their horses' reins, leading them away behind the tavern. Marley ducked his head to enter and Ely followed, emerging in a grubby kitchen.
The girl led the way towards a rug, kicked it aside and pulled a hatch up in the wooden floor. A stairway was revealed beneath it which she pointed to. "Go on."
Marley descended and Ely hurried after him, entering a cellar where huge barrels were stacked around the room in aisles. Marley headed down one of the aisles, the room growing warmer as they moved further inside.
A small fire was burning behind a grate in the back wall and several people were sat around on carpets and a variety of mismatching chairs.
The girl that had let them in marched past Marley and Ely and stood in the centre of the room. "Marley's brought someone." She gestured to Ely.
They all turned to look at Ely and he noticed their faces were gaunt and thin. An enormous woman with a braid of hazel hair stood up and placed her hands on her wide hips. "This is our backup? Hamish said he could help. He's smaller than Chip."
"Hey," a boy said from a chair, glowering at the large woman. "Small doesn't mean useless, Hannah." He was cradling one arm and Ely noticed he was missing a hand.
"We'll see," Hannah said. "Ask him the questions then Immarelle."
A girl stood from a worn leather armchair and Ely recognised her with a jolt. Her choppy, ebony hair was still held back with a red ribbon. Recognition filled her eyes as she spotted him but she asked the questions all the same. "Whose side will you be on in Rimori's war?"
Ely raised his eyebrows, taken aback. "I'm against Rimori if that's what you're asking."
"It's not," Immarelle said. "I asked whose side you'll be fighting on."
"I don't intend to be fighting, I think I am a little old for battle," Ely said with a light chuckle.
The people in the room glared at him.
"You took on that red bear well enough," Marley said, grabbing a discarded metal tankard from the floor and filling it with dark liquid from one of the barrels.
"It almost ate my head," Ely countered.
Marley shrugged, tipping the liquid down his throat and dropping into a large, wooden chair.
"What side, mage?" Immarelle pressed.
"The Council's side I suppose," Ely said.
Immarelle nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Who is the rightful ruler of Galice?"
"I don't know who but I know who's not. And that's the accursed Dead Xen."
They all hissed at the mention of his name and one man spat on the floor, rubbing it into the stone with his worn boot.
"Would you watch his head roll?" Immarelle asked.
Ely frowned. "I'm not a violent man."
"But would you see him fall?" Immarelle asked impatiently.
"I would. Gladly," Ely said honestly.
Marley raised his tankard in the air. "He passes the test. Leave him be Immarelle. The man's already had a beast attack him, he doesn't need another."
Immarelle twisted her mouth into a smile. "Beastly am I?"
"You can be," Marley said.
"So what do you want me to do?" Ely asked, feeling lost.
Marley patted the back of a seat beside him and Ely moved across to sit down.
"You're the only mage in the rebellion. What's left of the mages in Galice are either locked up or missing. We're gonna need your involvement to get into the palace unseen. When the assassination happens, you're gonna be the one that gets us in there."
Ely wiped his brow anxiously. "And what happens if we get caught?"
Marley ran a finger across his neck and Ely widened his eyes in alarm.
Marley clapped him on the shoulder and laughed loudly, the noise reverberating off of the walls.
Ely smiled vaguely at him but had the distinct feeling that he had gotten himself in too deep already. Marley passed him a wooden cup filled with a strong smelling alcohol. Ely knocked it back and it burned inside his chest. It didn't ease his fears but it gave him a surge of confidence. "I'll do what I can," he said.
35
A Raging Storm
Quinn awoke to orange light burning through her eyelids. She squinted at the morning sky which was golden from sunrise.
Hector was up, changing his clothes on the other side of the fire which had been set burning again. She eyed the scars on his back as he turned. They looked like faded whip marks and the thought made her stomach curdle. Scars had always fascinated her though. As a mage, she didn't have any. They were marks of what someone had been through, but her skin was perfect and unspoiled as if she'd never stepped beyond her front door. She eyed the dressing on her wrist, knowing the puncture wounds would probably scar if she never healed them.
Hector unwrapped the bandage around his middle, hissing between his teeth as he pulled the bloodied material away from the wound. It looked clean at least but the jagged cut wasn't healing together properly. The bruises around the slit had turned purple and yellow. Quinn wrinkled her nose. She suddenly didn't feel so pleased with herself for inflicting the wound.
She groaned her tiredness, pushing herself up onto her knees. The rope was still around her waist but the other end coiled loosely on the ground beside her.
She stood and yawned broadly, wondering what state her hair was in as she ran her fingers through it. Tangles snagged and pulled but she eventually worked most of them out, though she imagined it still resembled a toilet brush.
Hector nodded in acknowledgement as Quinn moved around the fire to join him. She couldn't keep her eyes from the wound on his side, her gut writhing.
Hector grimaced as he bent down, folding up the pair of trousers he had changed out of. As he stood, something silver fell from the pocket into the dirt, tumbling to halt at Quinn's feet.
Her heart skipped a beat as she recognised the key for the mage gauntlets.
Without thinking, she snatched it from the ground.
"No!" Hector cried as she clicked it into place on her right hand, turned it and whipped the glove off.
Hector snatched the gun from his waistband, holding it level at her forehead. "Put it back on."
Her heart thudded erratically in her chest.
She raised her bare hand, the warm wind feeling cool on her skin in comparison to the stiflingly hot glove. She let out a slow breath through her nostrils. "You can't win," she said evenly.
He lifted the gun higher, his brow furrowing. He didn't look angry, just desperate.
She wasn't sure how to act. The one thing that entered her mind was completely irrational. He stilled as she took a step forward.
"Just go then." He gestured toward the trees with the butt of his gun. "If you kill me I'll never get them back. At least give me that."
She frowned. She would never kill anyone. She reached out her bare palm, her breaths coming in small frantic bursts.
"Stop," he growled, lifting the gun higher so it pressed against her forehead.
In a flash, she extended her arm further and rested her palm on the wound. She was so close that the smell of him caught in her nostrils. It reminded her of earth and grass and was annoyingly pleasant.
Her heart accelerated as magic tickled her fingers. The skin was hot and enflamed beneath her palm. Hector's body tensed but he didn't move. His breathing quickened and she realised she was scaring him.
She sent the warming, green glow out of her body into his. Their eyes locked, challenging the other to make one wrong move.
As she took her hand away, he let out a short breath of relief. The cut and bruising was gone, leaving no trace of the injury.
When she looked up, colour had returned to his cheeks. She realised how much pain he must have been in and something stirred inside her.
Guilt.
She forced it down, knowing he'd deserved what he'd gotten. He was her kidnapper.
"Thanks," he muttered then dropped the gun to his side in a gesture of defeat. "Go on then."
She glanced toward the trees where shafts of sunlight seemed to mark a path for her through the woodland.
Her stomach clenched tightly as she turned back to him, praying she wasn't going to regret her next words. "How about we make a deal?"
He narrowed his eyes. "What kind of deal?"
She smiled, a plan forming in her mind. "The kind that gets your sisters back and keeps me free." Quinn kept her palm raised defensively between them.
"And why would you do that?" Hector asked suspiciously.
"Because I'll get a shot at taking down Rimori." She'd been considering it for a couple of days. She imagined the only way Hector would let her go was if she offered to help him. But the idea had led to others and the fact that she could get inside Rimori's headquarters was too good an opportunity to pass up. Now that she was free, she was under no pressure to offer such a deal and yet she had. She tried not to dwell too much on what that meant.
"And do you expect him to just let you walk into his headquarters with your hands unbound? We wouldn't get within two hundred miles of the place."
"No, idiot. You take me there whatever way you were planning to before. Free me when I'm close enough to Rimori. I'll restrain him. We'll get your sisters and the rest of the mages he's taken. Once they're freed, Rimori and his followers won't stand a chance."
Hector grunted, rubbing his chin. "You'd do that?"
Quinn nodded. She couldn't give up the chance to bring down Rimori.
Hector frowned. "I'll trade you for my sisters first. Once they're by my side, and only then, will I free you."
Quinn swallowed. There was no way to know whether he would keep his word but the desperation in his eyes gave her hope. She had to try, if she didn't she'd never forgive herself. She held out her hand and he flinched.
"Deal?" she said.
He hesitantly took hold of her bare hand, eyeing her warily. "I'd prefer if you still wore the gloves."
Quinn barked a laugh. "How stupid do you think I am? You'll just tie me up again."
"You've offered to help me willingly, why would I? I'd just feel happier if you wore them."
"Well I'd feel happier if you shoved them up your arse."
He sighed. "Fine. But you'll have to wear them when we meet with my contact."
"What contact?" She frowned, removing the other glove and putting them both in her pocket.
"Our link to Rimori. She's taking us to him."
"And who is she?"
"Just a girl with resources."
"How did you find her?" Quinn narrowed her eyes.
"I thought it'd be pretty difficult to find someone who could help but it seems Rimori has a lot of supporters dotted around. I asked at a few different Arcedrals on some of the smaller islands and her name kept cropping up." He shrugged. "It wasn't too hard to track her down after that."
"So that's what you were doing when you kept leaving me on my own for hours at a time?"
"Pretty much. That and getting supplies."
"When are we meeting her?"
"At noon tomorrow. We need to get moving, we've still got a way to go." He started tidying up the camp, kicking sand over the fire to douse it.
"Is that what we've been walking toward all this time? Some girl?"
"We're going to a meeting point."
"Couldn't you just've stolen a boat or something?" Quinn huffed.
"I was trying not to draw attention to ourselves. I reckon half the seven worlds are looking for you by now."
Quinn's stomach twisted at the thought and she dropped her eyes to the ground. She ran a hand through her hair, magic tingling in her fingers.
"Don't change how you look," Hector ordered, stepping toward her.
"Why not?" She dropped her hand to her side.
"Because you have to look the part. No one can suspect you haven't been kidnapped."
She nodded, slightly annoyed.
"Don't worry, you still look beautiful."
She raised her eyebrows at the compliment but he didn't look at her. She set about helping him pack up the gear in silence then they headed out of the woods and descended onto a long beach.
Quinn walked barefoot, enjoying the feeling of the sand between her toes. Her boots were tied together by the laces, dangling around her neck.
The heat became nearly unbearable by the time midday arrived but Quinn could comfortably adjust her temperature at last. She walked out into the surf, enjoying the cool water trickling over her feet.
Hector chose to walk in the shade of the trees. "I think we'll take a break," he called to her.
She nodded as he dropped down into the sand, pulling rations from his bag.
Quinn decided to take a swim and began stripping down to her underwear. She tiptoed out into the waves, leaning her head back to relish the heat. When the water was up to her waist she dipped back into it, rinsing her hair. The cool water lapped over her and she tasted salt as droplets sprayed her face.
This is what she had wanted from Brinatin: lazy days sunbathing on a beach and swimming in the sea. She wondered if she was making the right decision but knew she could walk away from Hector at any time she wanted. She had until the next day before they met with his contact and, by then, she would have to be committed to the plan.
