Wizard Tournament: Chapter 41 (Patreon)

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          Sylnya watched Draevin depart down the staircase of ice he had constructed. She was glad he was leaving. He couldn’t be around for this next part, and the less he knew the better. His precious Guild membership would be at stake, his career as a professional wizard. Better only one of them tasted the Guild’s wrath when this was over.

          Caelnaste and Istven were still bickering. Something about the remains of Istven’s father. Kot was studying the two of them distractedly while looking to Sylnya for guidance. She directed him into her shadow for now, then tuned out the bickering eldrin and focused on her own thoughts. She closed her eyes and let her feelings wash over her. Caelnaste had tried to kill Draevin. There was no denying that. She would try again if someone didn’t stop her.

          She had to die.

          …and yet. There were still warm feelings for Caelnaste in Sylnya’s head. They were a muffled and hazy thing, but they were there. Sylnya focused on those feelings and let them guide her actions. She opened her eyes once more.

          “I do not care if you have to dig up every unmarked grave in Eldesia,” Istven was saying. His words were calm and even, but that made them no less powerful. “I will have my father’s remains returned to me, with honors, or you won’t like the way I return this bow.”

          Sylnya stepped in. “Was that a threat Istven?” she asked him seriously. “How dare you insult your better!”

          Caelnaste smiled slyly at Sylnya’s outburst. Externally Sylnya didn’t react, but internally she smiled just as slyly as Caelnaste. “That’s right,” Caelnaste agreed. “Istven, you breathe free air at the queen’s discretion. If you start openly making moves against her, if you start embarrassing her, I’m afraid I’ll have to advise her to reconsider her indulgence. You’ll never see the light of day again.”

          Istven’s bright, glowing eyes darted from Caelnaste to Sylnya then back again. “The only thing that would embarrass the queen more,” Istven said darkly, “would be failing to make good on threats to punish me. Do I need to remind you how her last attempt to imprison me ended? What makes you think a second round in her dungeons would do any good?” Istven raised a finger to point at his eyes. “Go ahead and use your little future sight. Tell me what your queen would decide if she had to choose between allying with an unkillable god or losing the services of the latest in a long string of seers?”

          Caelnaste’s lips drew into a tight line. The two eldrin stared each other down. “The only future I’m concerned with is the one where you return what’s mine. You will return Dred’Slynt. You can do so voluntarily and stay in the queen’s good graces…” Caelnaste trailed off meaningfully and shrugged her shoulders. “Or not.”

          Istven snorted out a quick breath of laughter. “We shall see. When she is ready to negotiate she knows how to find me. You can tell her to send someone else though; I will not deal with you again.” He turned and stalked away. His hands worked on a spell of some kind as he went. When he reached the shaded stairway leading out of the arena proper he melted into the wall rather than following the path. His shadow flitted out of sight quicker than thought.

          “Bastard,” Caelnaste muttered under her breath once he was gone.

          Sylnya focused on the feelings of warmth for Caelnaste and let them guide her once more. She put a hand on Caelnaste’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about him. He’s a loyal eldrin through and through. He’ll give it back. You just need to advise the queen how to get it back without making him feel weak.”

          Caelnaste’s bright eyes looked down at the green hand on her shoulder and scanned their way up to Sylnya’s face. Sylnya gave her what she hoped was an encouraging half-smile. “So you’re not mad at me then?” Caelnaste asked. “For trying to kill Draevin?”

          Sylnya released a trill of laughter. “What are you talking about? Draevin didn’t get hurt and you weren’t the one responsible anyways. Besides, I would never let Draevin get between our friendship.”

          A smile spread across Caelnaste’s face. “I’m so relieved to hear that,” she said. “I thought you’d never forgive me.”

          “Of course I would,” Sylnya told her. “After all, what are friends for?”

          It was so easy. Sylnya took a backseat in her own mind and rode the wave of the compulsions in her head. Just like Caelnaste planned. Yes. Everything was going according to Caelnaste’s plan. Sylnya felt the knife hidden within the bracer on her right hand, just to make sure it was still there. She gave Caelnaste her best smile. Just you wait bitch, she thought to herself. I’ll carve that smile off your face and feed it to my cat.

          “I was afraid to ask earlier,” Caelnaste said. “Because I thought you might not trust me after what Tomrha made me do to Draevin, but… do you want to go with me to get our heads checked out?”

          “That sounds like a great idea,” Sylnya said. “Did you have a cerebromancer in mind?”

          “Only the queen’s personal therapist,” Caelnaste told her proudly. “He’ll fix us right up. Want to go right now?”

          Sylnya gestured with one hand towards the doorway of the booth. “Lead the way.” Oh yes, she thought to herself, you’d like that wouldn’t you? A chance to get your claws in a little deeper. We’ll see whose claws are sharper.

          As soon as Caelnaste turned around Sylnya grabbed a knife she kept tucked away in the small of her back and held it ready in her palm, just hidden from view. “Kot. Stalk,” she whispered to her shadow. Kot’s yellow eyes poked up out of her shadow and looked around. Sylnya pointed firmly at Caelnaste. Her shadow stalker leapt to obey. Stalking prey came so naturally to shadow stalkers they didn’t even need any training, just permission. It was their favorite way to take down their prey: hide in their shadow and wait for their mark to enter complete darkness. All she needed to do was say the right words and Kot would take care of all the evidence. There can’t be a murder without a body. Kot oozed out of Sylnya’s shadow and into Caelnaste’s without the barest sliver of sound.

          “So, where are we going?” Sylnya asked Caelnaste conversationally.

          “The Eldesian embassy,” Caelnaste said without looking back. She was busy fussing with her hair, making sure it was securely fastened to her hip. A habit Sylnya was sure she had picked up after years of tripping over that ungainly braid of hers. Sylnya imagined Caelnaste stepping on her hair and falling on her face. She laughed to herself.

          “Something funny?” Caelnaste asked her.

          “Oh nothing,” Sylnya said easily. “Just imagining the look on Istven’s face when he comes crawling back to you, begging to let you take your bow back.”

          Caelnaste smirked. “That’s not exactly how it will happen, but I like the way you think.” She pointed down the stairwell to their right. “This way.”

          “Wait one second,” Sylnya called out. “Can we swing by the gambling house on our way there? I have a ticket stub I still haven’t redeemed.” She held out a stub with the hand that wasn’t currently palming a dagger as proof. It was actually the stub for Ka’s match that she’d already redeemed but Sylnya felt sure that as a seer Caelnaste wouldn’t know the difference. The ban on seers gambling was quite strict.

          “Of course,” Caelnaste said. “I wouldn’t want to get between you and your gambling.” She led them in the opposite direction.

          “You know,” Sylnya said as casually as she could. “The gambling house is allthe way on the other side of the arena. The matches are over for today anyways. We could just cut right through the field.”

          Caelnaste shrugged. “If it saves time. The sooner I get these enchantments out of my head the better.”

          Sylnya smiled wickedly to herself. Yes, they could cut right through. Right through that dark, secluded tunnel with no witnesses.

          The shadows darkened as they got closer to the tunnel. A pair of purple-robed guards walked past in the opposite direction. Just so long as there weren’t any guarding the tunnel anymore it was fine. And if there were… well then, Kot wouldn’t be going hungry for quite a while.

          When they approached the tunnel entrance a figure jumped out of the shadows at them. Then several more. Dirty little goblins had surrounded them on all sides. Dozens of the creatures poured out of the tunnel and more leaped from the stands above. Most took threatening stances by crouching low and baring their fangs.

          “Shinies!” one of them said. “Pancakes!” said another.

          Sylnya flipped her dagger out of her wrist and brandished it at the goblins. “Shoo!” she hissed at them. “Don’t make me use this.” This many goblins in such close quarters promised danger. Sylnya prepared herself to make sure Caelnaste went down first if a struggle broke out.

          A slightly taller goblin stepped out from amongst the others. Or more accurately—he waddled. The newcomer was too laden with silk shirts, gold necklaces and other various trinkets to even walk normally. He was carrying a polished black wand in one hand. Boom’ba.

          The goblin leader held up his boom stick in a clenched fist. All the other goblins allowed him a bubble of personal space that was either a result of respect or fear. There actually might not have been much of a difference in the creatures’ minds. “You be miss long hair,” Boom’ba said to Caelnaste.

          Caelnaste gripped her braid in one fist. She looked entirely unconcerned. “Yes, I am.”

          “She’s good,” Boom’ba told his crew. “We get next one.” He glared at Sylnya’s dagger and bared his teeth. “You lucky you have good friend green stabby girl.” The goblins scattered back under the benches and trash cans they had been hiding in and Boom’ba waddled away to let them pass.

          “That was… interesting,” Sylnya remarked once they’d continued on their way.

          “Yes,” Caelnaste agreed while eying Sylnya sideways. “You’re pretty quick with that dagger, aren’t you?”

          Sylnya remembered herself and pretended to return the dagger to a leather sleeve on her thigh while actually palming it once more. “Yes, well. I was a Tree Warden for over sixty years. Some habits are hard to break.”

          The two of them continued walking. They entered the mouth of the tunnel. There was nobody else present. The sound of their boots echoed a soft pitter-patter through the tunnel.

          “So,” Caelnaste said in a casual tone, “is this where you were planning to kill me?”

          “Fuck,” Sylnya cursed. She should have known that seer bitch was going to see this coming. But if she thought being able to see the future was going to save her after leading herself into a secluded tunnel she had another thing coming.

          Sylnya darted forward. Fast as thought. She had a dagger in each hand before she’d even taken her first step. She stabbed at the back of Caelnaste’s neck and kidney at the same time. Caelnaste weaved out of the way of each blow without even turning around.

          “Kot! Kill!” Sylnya shouted while raining blows at Caelnaste. Her shadow stalker poked his head out from within Caelnaste’s shadow and whimpered. His eyes darted between the two combatants, but he made no move to intervene for either of them.

          An amber light was dancing over the surface of Caelnaste’s closed eyelids. Sylnya slashed at her again and again and she expertly dodged each blow. Even though she had the faster reflexes by far, Caelnaste started moving before each attack even started. Caelnaste ducked and swayed every which way, impossible to touch. The eldrin bitch cackled in laughter. “What’s the matter with your little cat? It looks like he can’t make up his mind. You didn’t really think I’d forgotten about him did you?”

          Kot didn’t matter. Couldn’t matter. She could figure out how to convince him to do his job after she made a corpse of Caelnaste. For now it would have to be enough that he wasn’t getting in her way. Sylnya continued her attack, stepping closer, trying to connect. All she could hit was air. She tried a feint, but Caelnaste didn’t even flinch and was already stepping out of the way of the real blow before it snaked in behind her.

          She needed to connect. Just once. Before Caelnaste managed to take someone she cared about away from her. She thought of Draevin dying without the chance to redeem himself for what he’d done. He deserved better than that. Her fury rose and she tried to sweep Caelnaste’s legs out with a kick but she hopped over it easily. She thought of Kot, his head scrambled up and unable to tell friend from foe. It enraged her! Kot was innocent of all this. She lashed out a dozen times in quick succession, hitting nothing but air. She thought of Peter, overcoming so much to get here only to be cut short by a petty bitch with purple hair and a—her knife sliced right through Caelnaste’s lower jaw. Bright white blood sprayed forth from the injury.

          Both of them froze. Caelnaste’s eye went wide with surprise, Sylnya’s with wonder. “What did you—”

          Sylnya charged forward before her foe could recover and plunged her punch-dagger deep into Caelnaste’s gut. Caelnaste shuddered in surprise. Bright white blood dribbled down the side of her mouth. Kot growled from somewhere behind her. He didn’t matter, he was just brainwashed. He would get over it. Caelnaste wasn’t dead yet, only stunned. Sylnya brought her other hand around, dagger at the ready. She put it to Caelnaste’s throat.

          A dark hand reached out from behind and grabbed Sylnya’s wrist before she could finish the deed. Her hand went dead instantly. Frozen and useless. Her dagger fell to the ground. A cold numbness moved up her arm. With her other arm Sylnya pulled her punch-dagger out of Caelnaste’s belly and tried to jam it in again but the stranger grabbed her other elbow and that arm went numb too. The effect was instantaneous.

          “Youw late,” Caelnaste sputtered through her injured jaw to the person standing behind Sylnya. “Wha am I payin youw fo? She awmost kiwwed me.”

          “My apologiess Misss Ccaelnasste,” a man’s voice said. The numbness was spreading quickly, already Sylnya couldn’t feel anything below her neck. She tried to crane her head around to at least get a look at Caelnaste’s mysterious ally. All she saw was a shadow. Then darkness.

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