Rebel Mage Page 2

  Could it have been anger?

  What did Stanner have to be angry about? It was Kaor whose life was in danger.

  “You’ve nothing to fear from me,” Stanner’s voice was quiet, but each word was said with careful enunciation, “but you can’t fight everybody.”

  Kaor didn’t move as his brain slowly processed the words. It was hard to think with the ever-growing circle of people staring and pointing.

  “Let me through and nobody gets hurt.” The light on Kaor’s hands and arms was becoming blindingly bright.

  “We’ll let you through if you drop the knife. Do we have a deal?” Stanner’s voice had an edge even though it had not increased in volume. He hadn’t yet taken out his own blade, but he was looking like he might. He could have been keeping his hand there to prevent Jules from taking it or he might have wanted it handy in case Kaor attacked. Jules’s eyes gleamed in a way that made Kaor want to lash out. “Drop it and go, or...”

  Stanner left the thought unfinished.

  “It is your duty, Stan,” Jules growled. “For Multo’s sake, the boy’s dead anyway. Might as well be us that gets the money.”

  Stanner didn’t respond but made a shooing motion with the hand that wasn’t holding down the dagger.

  Kaor struggled for words as he looked at Leah, but they wouldn’t come. Every second he waited was one less he’d have to get away.

  I should have run when I had the chance. Kaor shook his head and glanced at Leah. Her face was unreadable.

  He snorted. Perhaps he’d never known her at all.

  “Go boy,” Stanner said, apparently deciding that Kaor wasn’t going to leave his dagger, “before something happens.”

  “I don’t mind if you help gather the wood,” Kaor said to Leah, as he took a step forward. If he was hoping to elicit some sign of guilt from her, it didn’t work.

  “Don’t tell me what to do, you cursed fool.” Leah’s voice was calmer than before, but her tone was unmistakable. It said it was his own fault.

  And wasn’t that the truth?

  He had thought he could avoid detection. He had believed he might be different. That he could live among them and hide what he was.

  But the light called to him. Always. It wanted to be used. It demanded to be used. Even while doing such a small thing as imbuing a little life into a wilted rose, it had taken over and done things he hadn’t intended, calling more light than necessary and making him hold onto it without realizing it.

  It was Kaor’s fault. He knew this but still wished it could have been another way.

  Kaor glanced at the growing crowd, it seemed as if everybody on the street had turned out while he had hesitated, though less than a minute or two had passed.

  Bobb Kandler stood on the porch of his store, hands on his hips, his mouth tight, and his eyes narrow as he stared at Kaor’s hands. His young son Gregor pushed in front of him and was about to go down the stairs and into the street when Bobb yanked an arm, said something Kaor didn’t hear, and shoved the lad out of sight.

  “Run, you fool,” Stanner muttered, “you’re putting us all in danger the longer you stay.”

  A horn sounded, piercing the evening and causing everybody to shift.

  3

  The horn winded again. Jules said something, but even though Kaor hadn’t heard her, he knew what it had been. He would have known even if he hadn’t seen the formation of her lips.

  Ruc.

  The hunter Beryl Ruc was several blocks away and coming fast. Ruc had brought in almost every rebel mage. Most of the time, he did it without help from the Emperor’s mages. Sometimes, he got the rebels before the mage even appeared at the gong.

  Kaor shuddered at an early memory from his youth and tried to shake the thought but could not. There was something evil about seeing a teenage boy strung up as if he were a deer.

  A bowstring twanged and an arrow cut through the air, the wind of its passing brushed against Kaor’s jacket. It stuck into the wall of the Kandler store, quivering next to Bobb Kandler.

  Kaor faced his attacker. Every instinct told him to run, but like the fool he was, he stood his ground. Leah looked ready to faint.

  Didn’t think I would be this stubborn?

  The arrow had come from Scut Grelmer. The boy was sixteen, but he held a full-sized bow. Scut’s bow hand was unsteady even as the other was already reaching for another arrow from the quiver on his back. At three years younger than Kaor, Scut was taller and brawnier. Once the boy reached full height and weight, he was going to be a monster. Scut normally had Raon, his younger brother in tow, but the lad was nowhere to be seen.

  Kaor suspected it was Raon who had alerted the town guard. It was they who should have rung the gong to summon a mage from Lannersburg. Only it had kept ringing, making Kaor think Raon had done it himself.

  Kaor called the light as he held the knife ready to strike. His light source was a nearby lantern, which hung from the wall of the Kandler home. The lantern dimmed, though the flame remained the same size. Several in the crowd gasped in response.

  His perspective shifted, and something clicked.

  He hadn’t called the light that wouldn’t go away. It was still there, appearing to combine with what he’d just called, yet distinct somehow, if not to his eyes, then to his mind.

  It had pooled around his hands of its own accord. He focused on the other light, calling it, and felt the power join what he’d just summoned.

  He thought back to just after the first peal of the gong, when he’d noticed the light gathered around his hands. His perspective had been normal. Whatever had happened, it hadn’t been his fault.

  Like I can explain that to any of them. He glanced at Leah and looked away regretfully.

  “What are you doing, you fool?” Bobb yelled at Scut. “My boy was standing there not ten seconds ago. Put that thing away and leave it to Ruc.”

  “Sorry, sorry!” Scut managed to get out. He looked embarrassed, but that didn’t stop him from notching the arrow.

  Kaor bit his lower lip and concentrated. Scut paled when Kaor focused on the boy.

  It would have been hard for Kaor to explain how he did the things he did. Of course, nobody had ever asked, so he’d never been faced with the problem. Leah hadn’t ever wondered, choosing instead to pretend that facet of him didn’t exist.

  No one ever asked rebels questions. They just killed them as soon as they appeared and summoned a mage.

  Nevermind the fact that the only difference between a rebel and a mage was where they were born. A fact that had bothered Kaor, even before he’d learned he too could call the light.

  It had happened naturally the first time Kaor had summoned the light, like the coming of the sun at dawn. The world had shifted and it was like he was looking at things from outside himself. And that wasn’t quite right either, because it wasn’t so much as seeing as it was sensing or feeling. It was as if the light he held in his hands gave him the ability to know more and shift his perspective to outside his own body.

  Kaor could sense Scut’s heart beating as fast as a drum on Faller Night. It was a match for his own. The littlest bead of sweat dripping down Scut’s cheek did not escape Kaor’s notice. It was all there, plotted out in his mind as if on a map.

  Scut wasn’t to blame for his actions, but it was difficult for Kaor not to throw the full force of his power at the boy.

  Instead, Kaor made a small bolt of lightning appear in front of Scut, cutting into the arrow Scut released at the same moment. The crack of the lightning was sharp, making those around him wince as pieces of arrow were thrown to the side. Half of the shaft whacked Bobb Kandler in the head. The other half skid to a halt on the snowy road.

  “Come here, you bleeding idiot!” Bobb shook his fist as he jumped down from his porch, headed in Scut’s direction.

  The afterimage from the lightning bolt muddied Kaor’s vision, but it wasn’t enough to keep him from dashing towards Scut ahead of Bobb. The poor boy cried, his hands touchin
g his face, rubbing his eyes with vigor.

  “I can’t see! I can’t see!”

  “Sorry,” Kaor muttered as he ripped the bow out of the boy’s hands and the quiver from off the boy’s back.

  Thank the lights above I didn’t kill you.

  The horn sounded as Kaor sprinted down the street. It was much closer than before. The townspeople were too shocked to stop him. It took everything he had to not look back at Leah, but Kaor willed himself forward and increased his speed.

  She pointed me out. Never forget that. It was the logical thing to do, but it was still a betrayal.

  He disappeared between two homes and ran down a trail that led to the woods.

  4

  When Kaor disappeared, Leah felt all eyes go to her. She shivered but it wasn’t because of the cold or the snow. It wasn’t even because of the calculating glances she received from some of the townspeople.

  It was something else entirely.

  She’d never before doubted Kaor’s devotion to her or his desire to be with her but now she wasn’t so sure.

  It seemed the man barely knew her.

  Had he really thought she’d abandon him in his hour of need? She’d been forced to play a part; surely, he’d seen that?

  The betrayal she’d seen in his eyes made her wonder.

  She’d done what had been necessary and had expected him to be smart enough to realize it.

  I don’t mind if you help, Leah thought, repeating Kaor’s words to herself. They were like hot coals that fell on her shoulders and slipped down her back. Does he honestly think so little of me? He can’t possibly know the first thing about me.

  His words echoed around her mind, making her angry and sad at the same time. They had the effect of calling into question the exact nature of their relationship.

  Perhaps he said them to cast doubt away from me, she thought, looking for a reason to explain the misstep. But that didn’t really make sense either, now did it? If anything, it heightened the suspicion of anybody who had already started to wonder if she’d known he was a rebel.

  Judging by some of the looks, her guess wasn’t far wrong. Frannie and the merchant beside her whispered while looking Leah’s way. No, Kaor hadn’t done Leah any favors by suggesting she help build the bonfire.

  If he’d been smart, he would have reinforced her cover by apologizing, saying something about how he regretted what he was, and had hated lying to her all this time. Something that would have put her above reproach. She’d been forced to dig in when he hadn’t realized what she was doing, going so far as to call more attention to him.

  Why hadn’t the cursed fool run sooner?

  They’d lost precious time.

  Franni nodded back towards an alley and the merchant followed her.

  What are you up to? Leah wondered, trying to keep the appropriate expression of horror on her face. She’d never liked Franni, but the feeling was mutual. The woman had always seemed the type to say and do whatever she needed to get what she wanted. Just as Franni disappeared, she favored Leah with a small smile. Something about her eyes made Leah grimace and curl her fist.

  Come at me, you old hag, see what I’m capable of.

  Ruc’s horn winded again, much closer than it had been originally, and she shuddered. She was glad it wasn’t coming for her but was horrified it called after the man she loved. Even if the fool had so little faith in her.

  Stop it! Leah thought. Kaor’s life is in jeopardy and you’re trying to find meaning where there isn’t any. She wouldn’t have done any better in his situation. She needed to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  “You best be getting on too,” Stan Trachur whispered in her ear, his words an echo of her own thoughts. “I don’t like the way some are looking at you.”

  It was difficult not to pull back from the man’s breath, but she managed to do it. He was, after all, trying to help her. He wouldn’t have been an ally she would have chosen, but it was good to have somebody who wasn’t looking at her and thinking they could claim a bag of gold by capturing her. Three witnesses were all that was needed to claim she’d been giving aid to a rebel. It was supposed to be more complicated than that, but she’d never heard of somebody who’d been freed when there had been three or more witnesses testify against them.

  It was better not to take the chance. Her best option to get out of this alive was to portray confidence, something she felt slipping away at an ever-increasing pace.

  “I’ve nothing to fear,” she said, raising her voice more than necessary. She was just glad it didn’t waver or crack. “I’ve just learned of this, same as you. If any fool tries to claim I was aiding a rebel, they’ll find I’ve got quite the bite for being such a small woman.” She pulled out the dagger she kept strapped to her arm and flashed it against the lantern light before making it disappear. It was a move she’d practiced hundreds of times but never done in public. The sharp blade scraped her arm on reentry. She hoped it hadn’t drawn blood. She’d feel right foolish if it started dripping down her arm.

  The knife trick earned a raised eyebrow from Stan and he raised a hand to squeeze her shoulder. She gritted her teeth and forced a grin.

  It had taken every ounce of resolve to not shove Stan’s hand off her when he’d arrived. Many in East Ridge thought Stan’s wife Jules was the one to watch out for, but Leah had heard stories about Stan that would have raised most people’s neck hair. Her mother had forbidden her from going near the man when she’d been younger.

  As Stan stared into her eyes, it occurred to Leah that he was much closer than he’d originally been when this had all started.

  He had been whispering and it might have just been concern for her welfare, but could it be something else as well? The way Jules stepped beside him and hooked her arm through his while giving Leah a wary look was all the proof Leah needed to know there was something to the rumors about the man.

  If word ever got out on him, he’d be run out of town.

  From what little Leah knew, Jules had a right to be as bitter and acidic as she was. Leah would have been too if her husband had been fonder of other men’s ladies than her. It was no secret Stan tended to dote on women most would describe as pretty. It was also often observed he was not kind to his wife. That might not have been so bad if that’s where all the stories stopped, but that wasn’t the case.

  Stan’s fingers curled around Leah’s shoulder again and it took every bit of her willpower to keep from cringing. Where had the man’s hands been last? She avoided shuddering as she imagined several possibilities before she could stop herself.

  It was better she didn’t speculate.

  She looked around, careful to not let anybody see her check the spot where Kaor had disappeared. She didn’t think Kaor would have stopped once he was out of view, but she wanted to make sure he was gone. Stress could do strange things to a person. By all appearances, Kaor appeared to have handled it well enough—if only the fool would have run immediately—but she hated the thought of him becoming paralyzed with fear and not making it far.

  When Kaor had finally run, she’d forced her legs to not move, though she wanted nothing more than to chase after him. Every instinct screamed at her to run too. Whether it was more for her desire to be with him or throttle him or escape the suspicious looks of the mob, she couldn’t be sure. When he’d disappeared, a little voice in the back of her head had said it was the last she’d ever see him. She’d argued with it but feared it would be the case.

  Kaor might have foolishly put her in this position, but that wasn’t an excuse for her to act on instinct. Quite the contrary, now was the time to avoid any possible misstep. There were a lot of eyes on her, searching for the slightest excuse to take her captive and claim she’d given him aid. Kaor had hunters, hounds, lucent wolves, and a mage, all clamoring for his head.

  They were likely to get it too.

  It galled her to think the last thing he might do before he died was curse her name because he’d refused to lis
ten to good sense and leave months ago.

  Well, if he doesn’t survive this, perhaps there’s a place for me in the traveling troops, she thought bitterly. She’d been positive Kaor had seen right through her mask, but he’d actually looked hurt. I’m not a bad actor.

  “What did you say to her?” Jules demanded of Stan, her voice quiet but higher than normal. “Tell me what you said!” Jules stared at Leah with cold eyes, daring Leah to touch her man.

  Like I’d want the creeper, Leah thought and almost said aloud. She refrained from doing so because, like it or not, Stan had been looking out for her. With the two split in opinion, she liked her chances a little better.

  Leah’s mom believed Jules knew of Stan’s behavior but just pretended like she didn’t. If that were true, didn’t that make her a silent accomplice to everything Stan had done?

  “Nothing dear.” Stan shook his head and muttered something inaudible. “Nothing at all.” Stan let up on Leah’s shoulder but not before giving it a small squeeze that made her want to retch. There had been a promise to the touch; she was certain she hadn’t imagined it.

  “It didn’t look like nothing!” Jules turned to Leah. “You knew about Kaor, didn’t you? I’ve seen the way the two of you walk around town, holding hands while deep in conversation. There’s no way you didn’t. Men are terrible with secrets and even worse liars.” She glared at Stan.

  Leah frowned but kept her voice still. “Perhaps some men are, same as some women, but it’s hardly fair to judge all based on your limited experience.” She sighed and looked down. “Truth is, I knew he was keeping something from me. I thought it might have been the theft of Ally’s chicks, never anything like this.” She let her anger show. “To think he was hiding this from me.”

  How could the fool man have so little faith in me? Leah wondered again, wishing Kaor was standing in front of her so she could wrap her hands around his throat. We’ve been together six months. I’ve come close to professing love and he’s been close as well. How can he think I’d abandon him?