The Fire Mages' Daughter (11 page)

Creeping away as soon as I could, I found Vhar-zhin following me.

She took my hand. “You must be exhausted, dear. Come back to the apartment and have a long soak in the bath. I shall scrub your back for you, if you like. You know that always helps you.”

The tension between us since my ill-fated scheme with Lathran had eased, but this was her friendliest approach for some time. It was good to be back to our old closeness, even if her idea for a bath was an odd one.

“I’m not tired, Vhar,” I said, mildly. “Besides, I would feel strange lounging in the bath at this hour.”

“Nonsense! It will do you good.”

She wouldn’t listen to my protests, so into the bath I went, to be oiled and scrubbed and massaged. I had to confess, it felt good to be cosseted by someone who wanted nothing at all from me. She asked me no questions, and I don’t think I could have told her much of what had happened with Ly-haam, anyway. I didn’t understand it myself, so how could I explain it to anyone else?

But I don’t think she wanted me to talk at all. When I made some comment about the prospect of war, she hushed me at once. “Do not think about it. Let Zandara follow her silly ideas.”

So I lay, half-dozing, while she tended me. When she deemed me clean enough, she laughed and said, “There! You will do. Ah, Drina, it is so good to have you back, dear one.”

Then she leaned over and kissed me full on the lips, almost as a lover might.

She was strangely emotional, sometimes.

~~~~~

Two suns later, my mother arrived, and the world was a little brighter. Typically, she sent no word ahead, so I had no idea she was even on her way. There was just a note one afternoon, delivered to me as I emerged from a Nobles’ Council meeting, that she was in the mages’ house, and would be happy to see me whenever I could spare the time.

I think I must have grown wings, because I positively flew down the King’s Way, Cryalla pounding along in my wake, her armoured leather creaking, and sword clasps jingling. The mage guards smiled when they saw me.

“Where is she?” I called as I sailed past.

“Room Blue Four,” one called after me.

Then I was bounding up the stairs and along the narrow corridor, throwing open the door without knocking. And there she was, turning to meet me with happiness lighting up her face, throwing out her arms to receive me, clasping me so tightly I could hardly breathe.

We cried over each other for a while, but eventually she dragged me to a window for a close inspection.

“It’s true,” she said, touching my face gently. “You really are
well
here, aren’t you? Cal said you were quite different here, but somehow I didn’t quite believe it. Now I can see it for myself. Your eyes are so bright and clear. It’s astonishing. It’s the magic here, I suppose.”

“I don’t know. Perhaps it is. But I still miss
your
magic.”

Her face clouded. “Yes, dear, and that’s why Yannassia sent for me. You know that, don’t you? She wants to understand you.”

I pulled a face. “I suppose. But I wish she would just let me go home.”

Mother sighed. “She will never agree to that, so you might as well get used to it. But… Yannassia is very practical. A diplomat. You could make a deal with her.”

“Trade something, you mean? You think she would? She doesn’t have to. She has every legal right to keep me a prisoner here.”

“No, she doesn’t have to, but she wants you to be her heir, or at least to play along with the idea, without destroying the Keep or doing any of those other foolish things.” But she smiled as she spoke, and I was holding her hand and feeling her magic ooze into me, so I didn’t feel at all scolded. “If there’s something you want in return for that, she’d listen. She’s very good at making practical deals to get what she wants. That was how she came to be your custodian.”

“What… what do you mean?” I whispered, as the world dropped away from under me.

“I did a deal with her. She got to claim you, and I got to be a law scribe. Or a mage, as it turned out, but I didn’t know that then.”

I was on my feet, my breath rasping in my throat. “
You
gave me away?
How
could
you? You sold me into slavery, so you could be a stupid scribe!”

“Drina, don’t be so dramatic. I felt at the time that it was the best thing for you, and I still believe that. Although…” She patted the seat next to her on the sofa. “Do sit down, dear, or at least stop pacing about as if you’re going to explode. There, that’s better. You have to understand the position I was in. I was very young – not much older than you – and I absolutely did
not
want a child. Not at all. But then your father— Well, let’s just say that I didn’t intend to be pregnant, but it happened anyway, and it was such awkward timing. So I did a deal with Yannassia. But then when you were born, I changed my mind completely, and I hoped every sun that she wouldn’t send for you.” She sighed. “But there we are. What’s done is done, and it can’t be undone now, however much we may want it to be.”

I sat, hunched in misery. The logical part of my brain acknowledged the sense of it, but the less rational part was steadfastly sure that it was a betrayal of the darkest kind. My own mother gave me away to feed her ambition.

The world had shifted under me, and I wasn’t sure it would ever go back into place.

Yannassia sent for Mother and me within an hour. We were summoned to the Drashona’s private apartments, where she was changing for a formal reception that evening. She sat in a loose robe, calmly sipping wine and nibbling pastries, while a score of waiting women fussed about with gowns and lace and slippers and jewel boxes, and two more arranged her hair. Yet she talked as placidly as if we were quite alone.

“Well, Kyra, how delightful to see you again. Do sit down. Yes, the green, Lucia. Would you like some wine? Dorinna, some wine for Lady Mage Kyra and Highness Axandrina, if you please. Did you have a comfortable journey?”

But she was never one for small talk, so she soon got to the point. “Now, Kyra, I explained my concerns in my letter. I should very much like to understand Drina a little better. I do want her to be happy here, you know, quite apart from any considerations of her becoming my heir in the future. Besides, she is so well here, I do not see how she can leave, not permanently. Drina thinks it has something to do with your magic. Do you agree?”

Mother sipped her wine, and then set the glass down on a side table. “It seems very likely. When I was pregnant with Drina, there was a great deal of magic swilling about inside me – more than normal, for I was withdrawing magic from people who’d been wrongly spelled, and I had no idea how to manage that amount of power. Not then. I was just overflowing with it, and I suppose it got into her, when she was growing inside me. She must have got used to being bathed in magic, I suppose.”

“Ah!” Yannassia said, standing to allow her women to help her into a gown. “So she missed it when she was born?”

“I think so. I didn’t notice at first, not while she was still suckling, but as soon as she was weaned, she drooped and became terribly clingy. She wanted to hold onto me all the time. I could feel her draining magic out of me. Well, I was getting exhausted with it. She was leaching away all my power. So I tried not to touch her, but even then, I could feel her, somehow, pulling at me. I always know where she is, you know, from that little pull. It’s slight, but I’m always aware of it. And then she was just so weak and sick, and she cried all the time. It was frightening. We found that she was better in sunshine or in direct contact with the earth – they’re both sources of magic, too, although weak ones – so we encouraged her to be outside a lot. We hoped she’d grow out of it, but… it doesn’t seem that she has. Not entirely.”

“What about the younger children?” Yannassia said.

“I knew enough by then to reduce my magic levels while I was pregnant,” Mother said. “Markell and Sallorna showed a little of the same tendency, but they got over it very quickly. But even so, we decided not to risk having any more children.”

I listened with growing horror. So much had been talked about and guessed, yet no one had ever explained what was wrong with me in such bald terms before.

“Why didn’t you
tell
me all this?” I burst out.

“What good would it have done?” Mother said calmly. “We couldn’t fix it. I could never find anything in you that was – well, wrong. Nothing I could heal. I don’t even know what it is, this condition, or situation, or whatever you have.”

“It’s an
addiction
, Mother,” I said, and I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice. “A craving, such as those who chew moonrose leaves have.”

“Well, that’s as may be, but I don’t know why you have this need for
me
in particular, because if it’s magic you crave, you can get that from a lot of other sources.”

I couldn’t answer that, either. Perhaps my mind simply associated my mother with the relief from the cravings.

“There isn’t much magic in the Keep, and it’s bound to the structure itself,” Mother went on, “but it’s clearly enough to keep you well. How do you feel when you go into the Imperial City? There’s enough magic in there for you, surely?”

“I’ve never been into it,” I said. “It’s not allowed.”

“Not allowed? Why ever not?”

“It is far too dangerous, Kyra,” Yannassia said. “There are those who say it pre-dates the Catastrophe, and it is certainly far older than our history. Who knows what secrets it holds?
You
may be able to walk around there without risk— Ouch, not so tight, if you please. But even now, the mages are wary about too much wandering round. Scholars with a special interest are taken there, but I would never allow the children to go in.”

Mother rolled her eyes. “Really, Yannassia, there is no risk at all. We know how it works now. Well, I suppose it’s for you to decide. But may I take Drina in? I’d like to see if it helps her.”

“Well… no, no, the emeralds, I think. Yes, take her, Kyra. I suppose she will be safe enough with you.”

~~~~~

I was excited and terrified in equal measure. The Imperial City was the pool of magic at the heart of the Kingswell, a place built thousands of years ago by the pre-Catastrophe mages to provide refuge during the turbulent times they foresaw. Every part of it was infused with magical devices, still working for their own obscure purposes long after their original designers had turned to dust. My mother and Cal had uncovered some of its ways, but it was still treacherous for the unwary.

Now I was finally to see it, and not just the glowing golden walls that surrounded the citadel itself, but actually inside it. We had morning board at the mages’ house before setting off.

Mother looked askance at my feet. “Are those elegant shoes strong enough for serious walking?”

“Serious walking? Is that what we are planning?”

She laughed. “We’ll be walking over cobbled streets to get there, so a solid pair of boots would do better.”

“We’re walking all the way? But I’ve ordered my carriage.”

“Gods, Drina, you’ve got very grand. Well, carriage it is then. How many guards will you be obliged to take?”

“Only four for a private visit like this. And my bodyguard, of course.”

That brought another laugh. “They’ll be very bored. They won’t be able to come in with us.”

There was another surprise when I was giving directions to the carriage driver.

“No, not the underground entrance,” Mother said. “Take us to the far end of Mellonan’s Street.” Then she winked at me. “The scholars can crawl through the sewers if they like, but we’ll go in through the main gate.”

It wasn’t far to the walls of the Imperial City, but I had never been there. Whenever I ventured out of the Keep, which wasn’t often, it was to exclusive clothing shops or to visit the grand homes of the nobles or to stretch my horse’s legs in the countryside.

Now the carriage brought us to the foot of the Shining Wall. I stared up at it, towering above my head, shimmering with magic. There wasn’t a mark on it. No gate or door or window, no archway showing the way in. No steps or ladders, either; nothing could be built or even leaned against it. It looked like no more than a plain, blank wall.

“Wait for us here,” Mother instructed the guards.

“How long should we wait?” Cryalla asked.

“Until we return, of course,” Mother said, in puzzled tones.

“And if you don’t?”

Mother laughed. “Don’t worry, we will. Come along, Drina.”

She marched straight up to the wall, and placed one hand on it at a slight angle from the vertical. With a soft wooshing sound, an entrance appeared. Beyond, I could see a wide street lined with beautiful buildings, leading up to a massive domed structure at the far end.

“Shall we?” she said, holding out her hand to me. I took it, and hand in hand we walked into the Imperial City. Behind us, the whooshing sound again as the gates closed.

I stared around me in amazement. The Keep was an imposing edifice, and many of the nobles’ houses and lodges were charming, but this was breathtaking in its elegance. All was light and airy, porticoes lined with columns seemingly too fragile to support them, stone twisted into impossible shapes, every door and window and roof adorned with decoration of a subtle and, to my eyes, quite alien beauty.

“Why is there a dragon carved over that door?” I whispered. Somehow it seemed impolite to speak in my normal voice.

Mother had no such qualms, and laughed, the sound crackling around me like thunder. “I have no idea. Some of the designs are very fanciful. Look at those odd things, for example.”

“Octopus,” I said, astonished. “And crabs. And that’s a whale. But I suppose this place was much nearer the sea before the Catastrophe. Everything got moved around so much.”

“You remind me so much of your father when you talk that way. He had a good education, too. Not like me. A village teaching room isn’t the best place to learn about the world. Now, dear, you must keep hold of my hand at all times while we are out in the open like this. That way my magic will protect you, and you won’t be taken. They’re coming.”

“Who’s coming?”

She didn’t answer, but within moments I found out. A great bird appeared from somewhere, flapping lazily far overhead, gradually spiralling down towards us.

We stopped. “Don’t be alarmed,” she said. “It won’t hurt you. Just keep hold of me and you’ll be all right.”

I wasn’t alarmed. I’d heard the stories many times, of how the magical birds came to check out everyone new who entered the Imperial City. Those with magic in them were allowed to stay. Those without were taken by the birds and kept in slavery. I had no magic in me, but so long as I held onto her, my mother’s magic would be enough to deter them.

Closer and closer it came, its great wings throwing us into shadow. Lower and lower, down and down. And then—

There was a great burst of energy inside me, rocking me on my feet, and the bird was gone.

“What was that?” Mother said, a hint of fear in her voice. “It’s never done that before, never! Are you all right?”

“Yes.” I giggled. “I’m fine, perfectly fine.” Another giggle.

She pulled me round to face her. “Drina? What happened? Oh! You pulled all the magic into you, I suppose. The same way you try to do with me, except that I can fight against it. But the bird is just a magical construct, it has no resistance. Oh, how interesting.”

I couldn’t answer her. It was beyond me even to think straight, with so much magic fizzing inside me. All I could do was giggle.

~~~~~

The rest of that sun passed in a blur. I remember little of the Imperial City. We went into the library and saw the great stone sphere and the book with blank pages and a great many other wonders, but when I try to recall them, the memories are shadowy. Mother said she took me to the house where she and Cal lived during their time here, but I don’t remember that at all. After that there are snatches – a brief moment in the carriage home, with Cryalla leaning close to me, her face anxious; Mother and Jayna together, examining me; then Vhar-zhin bending over me as I lay in bed. How did I get to bed? I had no idea.

Sometime in the night, I woke and was myself again. Or better than myself. I felt more alive than I’d ever been before, more alert, ready for anything. I slipped out of bed without disturbing Vhar-zhin and opened the window to the balcony. It was almost brightmoon, and even though the moon was setting, there was still enough light to see people moving about below. A light rain was falling, and it must have been cold because the guards changing shifts below me were muffled in thick cloaks and scarves. I wore only a silk nightgown, but I wasn’t cold at all.

Two people walked purposefully through the gardens in the centre of the Keep. The trees hid them much of the time, but I caught occasional glimpses as they moved along the path. One was a mage, and they were heading towards the tower that contained the mages’ house.

How did I know one of them was a mage? I couldn’t say, but I was sure of it, all the same. There was something about him or her that drew my attention.

The two vanished between the many shops and stalls lining the inside wall of the Keep, and then entered the tower. Even though I couldn’t see them, I was still aware, in some unfathomable way, of where they were. Or the mage, at any rate.

Then they entered the warded confines of the mages’ house, and disappeared from my awareness.

~~~~~

I told no one about this strange experience. So many strange experiences, so many secrets. My ability to understand languages. My awareness of the eagles and rats. Now my ability to detect mages, or rather, their magical power.

When I next saw my mother, the magic inside her almost dazzled me. It was so real to me, I felt I had only to reach out and take it. Jayna was different. Her power was focused around her waist, in six small vessels fixed to a belt. Some of the other mages had a single vessel, a stone or precious mineral, or a carved piece of wood or bone, infused with the magic they called upon to power their spells. Inside the mages’ house, the ancient wards created a barrier, but outside those bounds, I could see every source of magic in the Keep.

For a few suns, I was restless and unsettled, overflowing with energy. I ate little, and slept less, but I sailed through the hours without flagging. Mother was caught up in mage business, so I didn’t see much of her, but she looked at me suspiciously whenever we met.

However, autumn was grinding slowly towards winter and she would have to start her journey home soon before the snows started in earnest.