6. The Cost of Being Wrong
Rory
The Phantasm had worn me to my very limit and it was getting dark. This wasn’t a good time or place to be crashing. I leaned against the wall to catch my breath. I didn’t even have enough strength left to create another Glamour for myself. I wondered if any of the safe houses were open tonight. They should be, I thought, Catherine and Reynold’s apartment would be good – that was if they were back from Radian. I hoped they were, because they lived close to here, and then I wouldn’t have to trek far to get a place to rest. I struggled to my feet and stumbled down the alley into the street.
I hadn’t even travelled a hundred metres from the alley entrance when I collapsed and scrabbled to hide myself at the side of the street. I couldn’t go on. My legs were trembling even without the added weight of my body and the rest of my body was shivering uncontrollably too. I decided to try one last tact. Even if it worked I would be unconscious by the time someone found me. Reynold, Catherine you’d better be home, I thought as I sent out my plea. < Reynold! Catherine! Help! I’m on Trinity St… > and passed out hoping fervently that Reynold or Cathy had heard me. The last thing I was aware of was footsteps and Reynold’s fading voice, “Fiery Afrits, Ror! What d’you get yurself into this time?”
When I came to, I was in a large loft room. Catherine was sitting beside me, hovering as usual. “Oh, sweetheart,” she said comfortingly, “You gave us quite the scare!”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn't say anything that wouldn't make her angry. Catherine, or Cathy as she preferred to be called, was beautiful. She had almond-shaped baby-blue eyes, sleek, wavy golden-brown hair, a heart-shaped face, and the most wonderful personality. And she just happened to be my best friend. She and Reynold were two others from the group that had escaped with me the night I had discovered my powers. Even back then, they had been sweet on each other so it had come as no surprise when they’d gotten married a year ago. After that, they hadn’t wanted to stay with the Liberation and that wasn’t a surprise either. Cathy had never liked ‘roughing it’ and she was such a sweet thing. They still helped as much as they possibly could though and gave anyone in the organization free leave of their house.
“You’re lucky we were even home Rory!” she chided me angrily, “We’d just walked in the door when your Thought-Speak reached us. It was faint and we almost missed it entirely! You could have died out there!”
Tears welled in my eyes at her angry words. “I’m sorry, Cath, so sorry,” I breathed faintly, “I didn’t know what else to do! I was exhausted after creating a Phantasm. I didn’t even have enough strength to get to your house!”
Her face softened a fraction. “What made you so exhausted, hon? A simple Phantasm doesn’t usually exhaust you like that,” she remarked tenderly.
“No,” I whispered, “It wasn’t just a Phantasm. I didn’t give my body enough time to recharge after the elemental magic I did last night and a Teleport today.” My voice turned bitter. “I wanted to return to camp with Rowan and the slaves we’d rescued but Orion refused my request. My mission was too important for me to rest, he said. But I also knew better than to create a Phantasm less than twenty-four hours after I did a huge elemental magic.”
“What?!” she yelled, not hearing anything I’d said except my first couple of sentences. She’d always been immune to my convictions that the Trustees were deliberately trying to sabotage the Liberation’s cause. She was convinced they were just doing the best they could under the circumstances – just as I had when I’d led the Liberation. I gritted my teeth in exasperation as I listened to her temper snapping. Cathy was normally very placid and slow to anger but exhaustion from her recent trip combined with worry over me had just put her over the top. “You did what?!”
“Elemental magic,” I repeated quietly, knowing that giving her a truthful answer was better than not answering at all. “Three types. Water, Fire and Time. And a Teleport.”
“How could you?!” she thundered angrily, “That could have cost you your life!”
I sighed, losing patience with her anger abruptly. “Cathy, look. I’m exhausted. You can yell at me later. Right now I need rest.” She shot a venomous look at me before she left the room. I sank back under the covers. I would explain later. She wasn’t angry really, just upset, I thought, trying to comfort myself. And I sank beneath the cover of oblivion once more.
When I came to, it was late in the morning and I realized I didn’t know what day it was. I tried to get up but a hand held me down in place. I struggled frantically for a moment and then relaxed as I realized it was only Reynold. “Whoa there girly,” he drawled in his thick Atlantian accent, “Where’s the fire?”
I shrieked happily and launched myself into his arms. “Elements power! Reynold! It’s been too long!” I declared as he gave me a huge bear hug.
“Well,” he joked, “See here. It hasn’t bin that long since I saw you - but you weren’t all that responsive at the time.”
I pulled away from him and took in his appearance. He was tall and sturdy – and now stood about two to three inches taller than I was. “You grew.” I laughed in surprise.
“That’s what they call it when you get taller,” he replied laughingly, “N‘case yeh haven’t noticed, yeh have too.” I smiled. As usual, he had a huge sense of humour and a smile on that made me want to smile too – no matter how upset I was. His hazel-green eyes smiled at me, making me laugh. Sturdy and reliable, that was Ray. I ruffled his black hair affectionately and began to tell him about everything that had happened in the past two days. He gaped at me as I relayed what I had found out in Elaina’s study. It was like old times – before he had left us to live with Catherine, before I had started wishing he and Cathy would come back just to help me relieve the pressure I felt crushing me. Because I thought that it was my fault they had left the Tent City.
“Whew!” he exclaimed at the end of my lengthy recollection, “Yer in trouble, that’s fer sure!”
“I know,” I said, “What day is it? How long did I sleep?”
“Thursday, yeh slept about sixteen hours. It’s about noon right now,” he replied. I did the calculation in my head. I had passed out early evening, woken up a little later then fallen asleep again, and slept til now. Sixteen hours covered it pretty well – at least I hadn’t slept that long…
“Has Rowan been in touch?” I said urgently.
“Yep,” he said, “They’ll be out tomorrow.”
I smiled. “Where’s Cathy?” I asked.
“Doin’ errands. Gettin’ food - that sort o’thing,” he replied, “Yeh know we just got in last night, right?”
“Yeah,” I said, “How was Radian, by the way?”
“Awesome,” he exclaimed enthusiastically and he launched into a lengthy tale about what they had done and seen. I thought it was awesome that they had enjoyed themselves – after all, they’d had a hard life. We all had, but some of us had taken to it like fish in water. Finding the Liberation and becoming a part of it had been like settling into a second skin for me. That wasn’t the case for Cathy though. The roughness and violence required for our lives in the Liberation had never really agreed with Cathy, and she’d only put up with it out of necessity. Ray hadn’t minded living in Tent City but he loved Cathy and wanted to make her happy. So they’d left.
About halfway through his recollection Cathy walked in. “Cathy!” I called out, accidentally interrupting Reynold. She didn’t even glance at me as she proceeded to the kitchen. I got up and followed her. “Cath, I can explain.”
“Really?” she asked sharply, “Aurora, I really don’t want to hear your excuses right now.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” I promised fiercely “Really. Just hear me out and then you can judge me all you want.”
“Fine,” she relented, crossing her arms.
I started to relate the past few days for the second time. “Ror! That’s horrible!” she gasped when I was finished, “I knew you suspected… I never thought…”
“I know,” I said.
“What will you do?” she asked.
“Whatever I have to, to get us back on track again,” I said, “Nothing will change unless I do something.”
“Maybe it will,” she implored, “How do you know it won’t change on its own? You could live a normal life – a safe life – where I didn’t have to worry about you every two seconds.”
“I do, Cath” I whispered, “I need to do it. Don’t you get it? I let the Trustees take over. I gave them the excuse to and now they’re planning something with the Magicians to crush our resistance once and for all.” I paused for a moment. “Besides I have point to prove,” I added in as a joke. She glared at me. < I’m sorry! It was a joke! > I cried with my thoughts, < Are you always so serious now? >
She sighed, and her gaze softened slightly. “Only with you,” she murmured. I knew how worried she got. We were best friends.
“I know you don’t like my lifestyle but you have to believe me. You’re like a sister to me and I wouldn’t change that for anything, but I also wouldn’t change my life for anything either,” I pressed on urgently.
She turned her doe-like eyes towards me and thought-spoke, < You win. I know how important I am to you – how important you are to me – and I know you couldn’t ever give up your life either. I just worry. Promise me you’ll try to be safe. >
< I promise. > I replied softly, < Always. >
She looked directly at me, “Good.”
I walked down Angel Drive cautiously. I really had no business returning to the community the Medici’s lived in, especially when I had come so close to being caught two days ago. But I needed to evaluate the effect the discovery of a spy within one of the households in the region had on the inhabitants. If there was little concern, then they felt more secure with their positions than I had previous thought. Nothing had changed in two days except the Medici Manor at the other end of the road, so I assumed that the Medici’s had told no one of my presence among their staff. I looked back at my place of employment for the last six months, even though I could barely see the decorative turrets of the walled garden. I absorbed the additions of sentries and Wards along the high walls surrounding the grounds. These new fixtures were imperceptible to the naked eye and even magic-users would have trouble discerning the differences if their eyes weren’t practiced at searching out concealed enchantments.
Seeing these invisible fortifications, I choked back tears. Everyone in the Liberation or connected to it was threatened by my reckless mistake. By now, my confidence was virtually nonexistent. Everything I’d worked toward for the past seven years was on the brink of a disaster. I sighed, my breath ragged with all the emotions I was processing. I needed to move on before someone recognized me. Without a backward glance, I hurried out of the gated community and picked my way across the canal that separated the Magician’s and commoner’s districts ready to make my rendezvous with Cathy, Reynold and the others when they showed up.
I turned my head to look behind me, an instinctive reflex after so many years on the run. I didn’t think anyone was there. It was highly unlikely, but it never paid to take chances. A tall wiry man with greasy black hair staring examining a dress shop window, a few young girls…
Hold on. A man staring into a dress shop… That was absurd enough to raise my suspicions. Since when did men shop for dresses? Not in my world! I immediately snapped into alertness and sauntered off in a random direction – my meeting with Cathy and Reynold would have to wait until I sorted this out. Keeping a close eye on my back, I saw the man turn from the shop window and watch me stroll down the street, and then he started to walk towards me discreetly.
I scowled; this was not the time for underestimating people in a fight. I didn’t have anyone to save my butt if I lost. Curse the Elements! Now I’d have to shake him off. How perfectly colourless! I started ambling toward an alley, a plan forming in my mind. If I could get to the end of it before he turned the corner, I would be able to enter the Lost Catacombs – the same passages we had taken refuge in the night of the raid. The moment I turned into the alley I started to sprint of the end of the alley and quickly tapped the dead-end’s wall three times.
I disappeared just as the man turned the corner. Using a spell, I saw him cautiously approach the wall and feel it. Finding it quite solid, he slammed a fist into the wall and then kicked it – hard. I winced. Ouch, that had to hurt. Brick walls and fast moving limbs did not mix even under the best circumstances. Cursing, he turned and limped out the alley. I grinned and gave myself a big high five. I congratulated myself; For once you weren’t stupid and didn't attract attention to yourself.
Cancelling the spell, I turned and headed into the dark tunnels, finally ready to meet up with Cathy and Reynold. I stepped out of the tunnels and entered a brightly lit alley about three kilometres from where I’d entered the passages. I smiled happily – Cobblers Alley. This was nice and close to where I’d said I’d meet them and I’d be there way ahead of schedule so we could go somewhere nice for the rest of the day. I glanced into the street, looking carefully for signs of trouble and headed out of the safety of the alley, turning left onto Cobblers Way.
Humming, I glanced at the shops that lined the street feeling better than I had in at least a week. It was troubling that I had been followed, annoying even, but I always had a watcher of some sort, be it Magician or Liberation member. It wasn’t as if it was an abnormal occurrence – and I’d gotten rid of him, hadn’t I?
The tightness that had held me since the completely mishandled raid was loosening as I finally relaxed from my worry over its consequences. I was sure there would be. For any action, there was a consequence. The question was how major a consequence? And would I be capable of handling it? I didn’t know how long I would be able to keep up this life. It was difficult running for my life every day, no matter what I told Cathy. I was weary of it, but at the same time, I couldn’t give it up – not without finding out if our cause won. I exhaled slowly directing my anguish into it, trying to expel it all into one breath.
Cathy and Reynold were sitting in the window of the small shop where we had agreed to meet. They stood up immediately as I entered but I motioned for them to sit down and pushed my way through the throng of people at the door to sit next to them. “I need to talk to you,” I breathed as I leaned towards them, “I was followed here. Shh… don’t look so alarmed, you’ll tip someone off Cathy…”
“Hey,” Reynold said loudly. I smiled and returned his greeting. For a few moments, we exchanged meaningless pleasantries. Reynold’s eyebrows raised in a silent question: Are they still hanging around?
I shook my head. “I saw Troy in the bakery on my way over,” I said conversationally as a way of answering, “He wanted to come see you guys too, but we were separated in a crowd on our way here.”
Cathy sighed, squeezing my hand. “That must have been a large crowd,” she replied, “It usually takes a lot more for Troy to get lost.”
“Usually,” I agreed, “but, then again, I took a shortcut that he hadn’t used before.”
“Really?” Cathy asked incredulously, “Why?”
I fumbled for the rights words that would give them an idea of what had happened without giving the public any idea of what was going on and shook my head. “I was going to be late for our meeting otherwise. Do you know when the others will arrive?”
Cathy shook her head. “No, they didn’t say. Soon I hope.”
“Let’s wait in the square then,” I said, glancing at them. Cathy was biting her lip, looking worried. Reynold was drumming his fingers on the table lightly. Cathy nodded and Reynold stood up, stretching his arms above his head.
I exhaled noisily and moved toward the door, not waiting to see if they would follow. I glanced back distractedly and, sure enough, they were shoving their way through the mob of people at the door to get to me. I paused briefly to let them catch up and then turned and made my way to down Dragon St. to the monument.
The bell tower chimed three o’clock at the centre of town. I surveyed the square worriedly again, searching for Rowan’s face among the crowd of people doing their weekly shopping. Ray craned his neck beside me, also searching for a familiar face among the crowded square. Cathy had returned home to prepare an evening meal. She claimed that if they were so late in arriving we would all just have to stay the night and head out in the morning. Her tone when she said this had left no room for argument. We would stay or else. I casually glanced behind us and froze, my grin fading in an instant.
“What?!” Reynold exclaimed seeing my face.
“That man,” I hissed, “He’s the man who followed me this morning.”
Reynold followed my gaze and froze. “We need to leave now,” he murmured, “Rowan an’ the others will find us when they get here.”
I nodded and stood up. I hurried from the square with Reynold covering my back. I took a circuitous route back to Cathy and Reynold’s to ensure that no one was following us and collapsed on a chair in the kitchen when we finally got back to the townhouse. “What are the two of you doing back without the others?” Cathy asked.
I swallowed. “We saw the man who followed me this morning.”
Cathy froze, mixing spoon in hand. “Did he follow you back here?” she asked in a low voice turning to face me.
Reynold stomped through the door at that moment. “No,” he said, “but we’re lucky he didn’t. It was Gary.”
Cathy dropped the spoon on the floor. We all stared at it rocking, dripping cake batter onto the floor. “Who’s Gary?” I asked quietly.
“One o’ the dogs that does the dirty work fer the Magicians,” Reynold answered. “E’s worse than most and good at what ‘e does. I ‘eard e owed the Medici’s a favor. Francesca probably sic’d ‘im on yeh.”
My swearing broke the uneasy silence that fell over the three of us like a blanket. “I have to go,” I whispered, when I finally stopped, “I can’t stay here, and I won’t put the two of you in danger.”
“Rory, no,” Cathy pleaded, “Wait for Rowan at least.”
I shook my head. “I can’t. The longer I wait, the more likely it is Gary will trace my movements back here. I have to go now before it’s too late.” I caught Cathy’s eye and held it. Finally, she nodded.
“Tell Rowan I’ll meet him at Safe Haven in Bedlam’s wood,” I said.
ns 15.158.61.11da2
