TRAITOR

  Horas

  19th day of Silvershine, Year 1011 of the Custorian Calendar

  How could this have gone so wrong? In all respects, this should have been a normal summoning. Yesterday, my king had asked me to locate the one bearing the Guardian’s Soul. The family line had vanished a few hundred years ago, and people just assumed they wished to be left alone.

  However, my search revealed the Guardian wasn't in seclusion. They weren’t even on Fullna anymore. They were on Earth. It seemed that some of the first Guardian’s descendants had been part of one of the final migrations before we’d sealed the rift between our worlds. Unfortunately, the soul seed had been among them.

  Even so, it shouldn’t have been a problem. We summon some of our countrymen’s descendants back to Fullna every thirty years as a means of acquiring new scientific, technological, and medical advancements. Those men and women who had migrated to Earth three centuries ago did so with the understanding that this would be the duty of their families for centuries to come.

  Arcanes told me that everything had started fine. He'd arrived early, taking time to personally greet and thank the select individuals he had invited to attend, from the mages performing the ceremony to a few former residents of Earth, who had been summoned to Fullna only ten years prior. A hundred of the greatest mages ever produced by our nation had knelt and rested their hands on the outer ring of the large summoning circle. An hour later, this great hall that had always been a place of celebration and joy was now a chamber of death. The stench of blood lingered in the air.

  Along the left wall, long banners slowly fluttered between sconces of soft white light. Upon them was the symbol of our nation: a rose wrapped around a sword. Normally, this image inspired a sense of pride in me, but not this night. Not after this shameful tragedy, for below the banners, carefully lined up and covered by thin white sheets, rested a hundred corpses.

  I was grateful for their being covered before my arrival. Not only because it was respectful to those who had died, but because I had known several of these mages for years. For many, I was a teacher. To others, a friend. Each sheet was stained red, where blood had flowed from the mage's eyes and nose, confirming that they'd died pushing through mana fatigue, desperate to maintain the summons. There had never before been an incident like this. But now was not the time for me to grieve their deaths.

  Soldiers flooded every centimeter of the castle grounds to confirm we weren’t under attack. While there was no doubt in my mind that this disaster had been intentional, I knew that the military wouldn't find the culprit. Not yet anyway. Whoever orchestrated this was not a person that these soldiers could find, let alone handle. My face remained angled down toward the summoning circle as my eyes scanned the room, evaluating every person. Looking for a sign.

  I had only just arrived at the great hall a few minutes ago to perform a tracking spell on the circle. We needed to know where the Guardian had entered our world and determine what had gone wrong. Arcanes Raldocion paced beside me as I worked. His gaze trailed away from me, being drawn back to the bodies. My king looked devastated by the sight, but it reminded me that we were blessed with a leader who truly cared for his people. And that I was blessed with a good friend.

  I can’t even imagine the pain in his heart right now.

  "Strauss," he called out to one of the two generals who stood a short distance away.

  Vinjet Strauss marched over, with perfect posture as always. He was a tall, strong-looking man with jet-black hair, parted and combed perfectly without a strand out of place. Not a single wrinkle existed on his dark grey uniform. The man’s demand for all things to be done efficiently and to perfection was one of the reasons he was so highly regarded and reliable. Though his eccentric personality often left some feeling a tad… uncomfortable. Well, that, and the fact that he's an insufferable narcissist.

  The man stopped just short of where I worked and snapped to attention with a fist over his heart. “Your Majesty, how may I serve?” He glanced at me briefly but offered no greeting.

  “You may be at ease, Strauss,” Arcanes said as he rubbed the back of his head. His every movement looked heavy with grief. “First, all these mages gave their lives in service of our nation. See to it that all their families are cared for by the kingdom from this day forth. They shall never go wanting, is that understood?”

  Strauss gave a curt nod and voiced his agreement.

  “Next, can you please finally explain to me what has transpired here and why these men lost their lives. We should have been welcoming the Guardian to our nation right now. Instead, this great hall that we had prepared for their arrival has become a place of death and disorder.”

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  Strauss cleared his throat. "Well, Your Majesty, I–"

  “Based on what you and a few others have described to me, it seems quite likely that the summoning was intercepted. Another party tried to seize control of it.” I interrupted as I stood.

  The general shot me a nasty look.

  That’s for disrespecting my husband last month, you prick.

  Arcanes’s eyes went wide. “By the gods… did they succeed? If so, then all hope is lost.”

  “No, they failed in their attempt. Our mages gave every last drop of mana they had until their hearts ceased to beat. The one summoned may not have ended up here, but they also did not get transported to the enemy’s location in Clawden. These men and women died ensuring that grim outcome did not come to pass.”

  My king breathed a long sigh of relief, hearing this.

  “If you hadn’t chosen the coward’s way and avoided your duty to our king, the mana pool may have been great enough to bring the Guardian here. Perhaps these men and women would still be alive, Horas,” Strauss said with a venomous tone.

  I glared at the man who stood almost a head’s height above me and narrowed my eyes. Every instinct I had screamed for me to tackle him. My fists trembled as I fought to restrain myself.

  “You unbelievable bastard," I snarled, "friends of mine just died, and you’re implying that it was my lack of participation that killed them?" I stepped closer. "The only thing that would have spared everyone this fate would have been not to perform this kidnapping.”

  Strauss scoffed, and Arcanes put his hand up, signaling us to stop our bickering. We turned back to our king.

  “Before I state the current location of the Guardian,” I said, “we need to discuss an unfortunate likelihood.”

  “What would that be?” Arcanes asked.

  I lowered my voice slightly. “There was a traitor amongst those in this room.”

  Arcanes glanced around, and Strauss seemed to stand taller. A short distance behind him, General Hansley turned as he overheard me. Apparently, I hadn't lowered my voice enough. He remained where he was, but now seemed very interested in our conversation. Arcanes waved him over.

  The squat man gave a brisk nod and waddled over, saluting Arcanes. I struggled not to stare at the beads of sweat collecting on his balding head. I would have preferred fewer participants in this conversation, but, like Strauss, Hansley was a man whom Arcanes trusted completely. Before I continued, I ushered the men to the outskirts of the room. Far from those who may try to listen in.

  “Are you certain? Based on what evidence?” Strauss demanded.

  “For someone to have attempted to hijack a summoning, they would need to know the exact moment the spell became active.”

  Strauss looked deep in thought as he stroked his goatee, processing the possibility. “I suppose…”

  “And the only people who knew the exact time it was activated were the people present in this room. That leaves twenty people… if we are excluding those who are no longer alive.”

  Strauss closed his eyes and sighed, seemingly accepting what I had concluded.

  "The mage makes a good point," Hansley chimed in. "But why in the name of the Nine would someone betray us to those creatures?"

  His question was one I had been wondering myself.

  “Strauss, I want you to lead the investigation and identify the traitor. If anyone can find out who they are, it’s you,” Arcanes whispered.

  “Your Majesty, I will bring up the lights on this mystery and personally dispatch the individual who would bring harm to our nation.” Strauss brought his feet together and placed a fist over his heart again. “I shall right the wrongs of today and present to you a more fitting performance going forth.” He bowed his head slightly.

  Arcanes patted Strauss’s shoulder and then turned back to me. “Now, Horas…where did our new friend end up?”

  My eyes scanned the room, wary of anyone paying us the slightest of attention, as I motioned for each of them to lean closer.

  “The Guardian entered our world here in Elric, but close to the Clawden border. Between the city of Devonspoke and the village of Talp, but a bit south toward the forest,” I whispered.

  “Your Majesty, the village of Talp fell to the Brax just this day…” Strauss added grimly.

  It was subtle, but some of the color left Arcanes’s face.

  “Strauss, I want you to deploy an airship to that region with a full platoon immediately. The Guardian’s safety is-”

  “I’m afraid that is impossible, Your Majesty.”

  Arcanes froze at the words, and his eyes slightly narrowed. “How exactly is that impossible? We have an entire airfield full of ships at this very moment!”

  “Ships that have all been decommissioned. For the last two weeks, they have been undergoing major modifications to make them battle-ready for when we launch our assault. Getting one capable of flight again would likely take several days. This was done with your approval, Your Majesty. ”

  My king was visibly struggling not to lose his calm. We had inadvertently placed the most valuable person in the ten realms in grave danger and had no quick methods to retrieve them from peril. The airships were being rebuilt, and the Landstriders didn’t traverse the northern mountain range. There was only one option left that I could think of.

  The entire northern territory near the Clawden border was in chaos right now due to the invasion, so several military squads were patrolling the region, protecting the citizens and demons that were fleeing south. Reinforcements had been sent up to assist the troops that were already stationed there, but it hadn’t been enough. Many of them had been wiped out already, and the next deployment of troops wasn't scheduled to leave for another two days. The forces that remained up there were currently spread thin over the incredibly vast area. But they were still an option.

  “Strauss,” I turned toward him, “what about the troops currently in the north? Is there a squadron that could retrieve the Guardian and safely transport them south of the mountains, where a military Landstrider could retrieve them?”

  His eyebrows rose in surprise. “That’s probably the most intelligent thing I’ve heard you say in years, Horas. Perhaps you actually do serve a purpose.”

  “Which squadron is closest to the Guardian's location?” Arcanes asked, holding out a hand to stop his general’s belittling of me.

  Strauss closed his eyes, let out a long sigh, and shook his head. Several seconds passed. “That is currently one of the more active regions in the north, Your Majesty. When I last checked this afternoon, there was only one squad still alive within several days of that area.” Strauss paused, as if readying himself to deliver bad news. “It’s Squadron Eighty-Seven, Your Majesty. Thena’s team.”