The Sartious Mage (The Rhythm of Rivalry) Read online

  “Yes, in the same room, please,” I said, revealing my plan to keep Lisanda from escaping.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her jaw drop.

  “So I suppose you’ll be sharing a bed as well?” he asked.

  “If we could share a room with two beds, that would be ideal,” I told him.

  Earlier, I’d made the promise of her own bed, mostly because there was no reason to subject her to sharing one with me. With my darkness, I wasn’t the best person to sleep beside.

  But I couldn’t give her what she wanted in terms of a bath. Privacy was too risky. She could slip out a window or turn some object into a weapon and conceal it. Separate baths in the same room was the only option.

  The innkeeper nodded. “It’ll just be a moment.” He left us.

  “You’re a vile reprobate after all,” Lisanda said. “If you think I’ll undress in front of you, you’re wrong.”

  “There’s usually a clothing line strewn across the bathing room for drying clothes,” I explained. “We’ll hang the tarp on it with our baths on either side for some privacy.”

  “And what’s to stop you from simply walking over to my side?” She glared at me presumptuously.

  “Do you want another promise?” I shrugged. “What choice do you have, anyway?”

  “I could scream.”

  “You could.” I folded my arms. “And then we’ll be sleeping outside with no bath, no food, and no water, and oh yes! You’ll be gagged the whole night.”

  She growled and turned away from me. “I’ll take the promise, then.”

  With some relief, I said, “I promise to give you as much privacy as I can. I won’t make any attempt to see anything that…to look at you when…” I couldn’t figure out how to word it without sounding like a reprobate. “To see you naked,” I concluded.

  “Nor will you do anything disreputable in the bedroom.” She scrunched her nose.

  Disreputable. Surprised by the way she worded it, I smiled on accident. “I promise.”

  Her stare was so cold, my smile immediately soured. We remained silent until the innkeeper returned.

  “All set. Towels, soap, warm water, everything you need.”

  I paid him what he requested for the baths, meal, and bedroom. It was about half of what we had left.

  As tired and dirty as I was, we didn’t have the time for a long bath or a full night’s rest. I needed to be out of the city as soon as possible. For all I knew, guards had begun searching every building in The Nest. We had to hurry.

  Chapter 9: Bath

  With no arms, Lisanda needed my help taking off the tarp. It wasn’t easy undoing all the knots. I realized it would be faster to manipulate the Sartious Energy in my wand and around us to make a small razor. That way I could just cut the strips of rough cloth. But I didn’t have the fortitude required for the advanced spell, not without food or rest.

  Manipulating SE was similar to sprinting while trying to lift a mountain with your mind, both physically and mentally tiring at the same time, and that was just the start of the process. After grabbing hold of the energy, moving it was even more difficult.

  But worst of all was shaping it into something. Heavy concentration was needed to pack the SE against itself in order to create sturdy objects. And the more time it took to handle the SE, the longer it felt like sprinting.

  Many people didn’t have enough mental focus to control SE because they were too distracted by the physical toll of manipulating it. This was why mages skilled with the green energy were so rare.

  But I always had a knack of concentrating better when my body was in use. In fact, it was often hard for me to develop complex ideas otherwise. That’s why my best plans were created in the moment.

  Though in the case of Lisanda, I still had no clue how I was going to trade her for the cure. I figured the plan would come once I got her out of the city.

  There was an audible peeling sound when I removed the last layer of the tarp from Lisanda’s body. Her immaculate wedding dress wasn’t even white anymore. Some parts of it could be considered off-white, maybe tan, but most of it was brown. There were black spots where dirt had clumped together in places where her dress had bunched up, like around her waist and under her breasts.

  I remembered her skin having a golden brown tint like bronze, but it was not that way now. Mud brown would be more accurate. She turned away from me the moment the tarp was off, yet her gown only started around her shoulder blades, leaving much of her back still exposed to me.

  I could see that her neck was soiled by a mixture of dark streaks of mud. As she wiped it from her arms and shoulders, her hair bounced around the top of her back, some strands sticking to her skin. I felt pity as well as guilt.

  I hung the tarp from the clothing line between our baths. As in most inns, we’d each been given towels, a barrel of hot water, a small bar of soap, a little bucket for dumping the water onto ourselves, and a wooden tub for collecting the used water or whatever else we wanted to do with it. Some people liked to pour the entire barrel of water into the tub and soak there for a while, but I didn’t have the time.

  Lisanda threw her new tunic over the clothing line soon after the tarp was up. A breath later, the room was completely silent. I didn’t wish to undress until I heard her doing the same. The door was on my side of the tarp, but she still could run for it the moment I took off my clothes. I figured the best defense to that was to make sure we were both naked at the same time.

  “You promise you’re not going to come to my side?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then why are you waiting for me to undress?”

  “I don’t want you waiting for me to undress so you can run for the door,” I admitted. “And don’t think I won’t chase after you if you do, no matter how little I have on.”

  It was quiet again except for the sound of breathing and weight shifting. I’d noticed that she always preferred moving to standing completely still. She was continually rubbing her shoe on some mark on the ground or along a crack in the floorboard. The tarp on the clothing line between us hung too low to see her feet, but I could hear them doing their usual prodding.

  “Why don’t you just wait outside?” Lisanda asked.

  “I want to bathe as well.” But it won’t kill me to be dirty, which seems to be the case for you, I wanted to say.

  After a few more petty questions, I finally heard her dress drop to the floor and then the sound of water being scooped and poured. I hurried to start as well.

  Cleaning my body with the warm water was not nearly as relaxing as it usually was. I didn’t know why I’d thought it would be. We both rushed to clean ourselves as quickly as possible, saying nothing throughout.

  As much as she didn’t want me to see her, I didn’t want her to see me, either. Most of that was because of all the cuts across my chest and back, with bruises scattered between them. It was a startling sight for the unprepared eye.

  With plenty of unsullied water to spare, I cleaned my clothes as well. I didn’t have a washboard, so it was not as thorough as I would’ve liked, but they still were clean enough for me to look forward to putting them on again. There was little worse than the feeling of taking a bath and then dressing in filthy clothing.

  I used Bastial heat to dry my underwear and white undershirt, but the rest of my clothes would have to dry during the night. Although Bastial Energy was a hundred times easier to manipulate than Sartious, it took a lot of heat to dry clothes, and I didn’t have the stamina to dry the rest. I wrapped the long towel around my body, ready to get to the potatoes and bacon.

  “Are you almost done?” I asked Lisanda from my side of the tarp. I could hear her drying herself.

  “Yes, but will you leave me for a moment?”

  “Why?”

  “I need to do something.”

  “What?”

  I could hear her sigh. “Something private.”

  “Not unless you tell me what it is.”

/>   “I have to use the chamber pot!” Her voice was shrill. “And I’d rather you not be in the room. Bathing was bad enough with you here. Just give me a few minutes.”

  I’d looked around the room earlier. There was nothing she could use as a weapon or to escape. There was a window, but it was small and too high to climb through. I figured a little trust between us could only help.

  “Sure,” I said and left.

  Outside, the innkeeper found me hovering around the door. “Ready for dinner?” He had a sly grin—must’ve thought using the word “dinner” at this time of the night would be humorous. I was too exhausted for humor.

  “Yes.” I nodded with a fake smile.

  “Now I remember how I know you.” The innkeeper ran his thumb along his chin. “You’re that Sartious mage…Jek Trayden, right?”

  I didn’t want a conversation. I was trying to listen to Lisanda on the other side of the door. She couldn’t reach the window, but who knew what else she had in mind? She might throw something through it to collect some broken glass for a weapon or rip a piece of wood off the tub. I’d made it seem like I trusted her, but to actually do so would be foolish. What could I tell this innkeeper for him to go away?

  Quiet, I’m trying to listen to see if my friend is doing anything she shouldn’t be doing. No, that would arouse too much suspicion.

  “That’s me,” I said, with my eyes nowhere near his face. It was rude not to look at the person I was talking to, but I didn’t want to invite more dialogue. I thought I heard something from behind the door, maybe the wooden barrel being pushed across the floor?

  “That’s wonderful! Will you be staying tomorrow? My guests would love to see a some spells.”

  “We’re leaving early, actually. Another time.” I couldn’t help but give him a slight smile. I knew I should be rude, even tell him to leave me alone, but I couldn’t do it. He was just being friendly.

  I definitely heard something then. I didn’t know what Lisanda was doing, but it was something besides relieving herself.

  “My friend should be coming out any moment,” I told the innkeeper. “Could you prepare our food?”

  “Certainly,” he said, turning to leave. “It’ll be ready shortly.”

  I whispered loudly toward the door, “Lisanda, what are you doing in there?”

  “Almost out!” she called back in a voice that was far too obedient.

  I reached toward the handle but hesitated. If she really was using the chamber pot and I stormed in, it would be the last time she trusted me.

  “Hurry up,” I decided to say instead.

  She didn’t respond.

  “Lisanda?” I continued. “Lisanda, I’m coming in.”

  The moment I turned the handle there was a crash.

  I threw open the door to find the Princess clean and in her new tunic, but writhing on the ground. Around her were the two water barrels.

  It was immediately evident she had stacked them and tried to climb on top in order to get through the window. Even more obvious was that she’d fallen.

  I should’ve scolded her, told her she would be wearing the tarp from now on, that she would never be trusted again. But in the same way I couldn’t be rude to the innkeeper, I couldn’t bring myself to say any of those things to Lisanda. Watching her roll back and forth while holding her ass and clenching her teeth made her look miserable enough.

  “Are you hurt?”

  She groaned. “I think I broke my tailbone.”

  “Not from that short of a fall.” I snickered a bit. “I hope you enjoyed the bit of privacy. It’s going to be the last you get.”

  She grumbled, pushing herself to her knees and then eventually to her feet. She hobbled out the door with a hand on her rear.

  “The food better be ready.” She tossed her hair out of her face petulantly.

  I held in a laugh. She couldn’t possibly have been trying to be comical, but she was.

  I sat between her and the door. Without the tarp constricting her legs and arms, there was little stopping her from running—that is, unless she wasn’t as starving as I was. Only a fool would run on an empty stomach with food sitting before her.

  Lisanda could be foolish, but she wasn’t a fool.

  I stole a few glances while she snapped off pieces of her bacon. My sister really did wear similar tunics to the kind Lisanda had on, but the Princess looked nothing like her. Kalli was two years older than me and Sannil’s daughter by blood. My sister was far closer to my weight than Lisanda’s. Kalli wasn’t fat in the least, but hardly a bone showed on her body, except her round chin.

  Every part of my sister was rounded, from her face to her knees. She had curves where most women did, at her waist and chest, but her stature and muscles didn’t accentuate them. She was nearly as tall as me and stronger in some senses of the word. She was a natural born lifter, great around the farm.

  Lisanda was everything Kalli wasn’t, but nothing that Kalli was. Lisanda was very thin, appearing helpless if I didn’t know of her surprising strength. She was short, with big eyes, thick hair, and barely a waist. She was a child’s doll, but with bones and curves instead of a round and squishy body.

  The tunic was too large on her, as she’d stated. But she’d rolled up the sleeves and pulled down the slack around her feet so that it wouldn’t bunch up above her waist, allowing her womanly shape to show.

  Most of the tunic was green, and not a nice forest green but more of a dying green, like that of a fallen leaf. The gray sleeves and hood were the same as the sky before a storm. Even so, she looked…radiant? No, that didn’t seem right. Pretty? Yes, definitely pretty, although that didn’t seem like a befitting description.

  It wasn’t important. The only reason I was thinking about it was because she looked so different without the tarp and mud across her face and hair.

  I thought I noticed her giving me a few glances as well while we ate.

  At one point, our eyes met for just a blink, then immediately fell back to our food. She swallowed and looked up at me.

  “Why are you looking at me?” Lisanda asked.

  I tossed my hand dismissively. “I’m just looking around.”

  “You’d better not fall in love with me.”

  I nearly choked! What did she just say? And with such indifference, like she was talking about the weather or something! How was I supposed to respond? What did she expect me to say?

  No words came, just complete shock. She nibbled on bacon while her eyes wandered. Her face was calm, tired even. Was it possible she didn’t realize that she’d just said the most ridiculous thing in the world? It looked as if she didn’t even expect me to respond to it! She certainly wasn’t waiting for an answer.

  She finally turned back to me, swallowed, and folded her arms. “You’re staring,” she said accusingly.

  “How can I not after something like that?” I scrunched my face and did my best to imitate her voice as I repeated her line, “You’d better not fall in love with me—who says that?”

  She pointed at me. “You’d better not!”

  Now, she seemed to be offended! It was too much. “That would be like me saying, ‘You’d better not kill yourself because I still need to trade you for the cure.’ ”

  “It’s nothing like that. Of course, I wouldn’t kill myself, but you’re already falling in love with me.”

  I stood with my arms in the air. “That’s—” I stopped myself. I was shouting. I sat back down and lowered my voice. “I would never fall in love with you.”

  “Good. Keep it that way, farm boy.” She took another bite.

  I was outraged. I felt the same anger as I had in the palace when her father wouldn’t give me the cure. I couldn’t even look at her, but I couldn’t storm off, either. I stood instead, pacing back and forth.

  Luckily, I was so tired the anger soon succumbed to my exhaustion. I saw she’d finished her food, so I stood over her.

  “Let’s go.” I waved her up from her seat. “Tim
e for bed.”

  She followed without much reluctance, clearly as tired as I was. I picked up my clothes from the bathing room. They were still damp, but I didn’t want to leave them. I had the idea I should be ready to flee in the middle of the night.

  You’d better not fall in love with me. And she called me delusional!

  Ridiculous.

  Chapter 10: Attack

  Our room was on the second floor. It contained nothing but two beds. Both were big enough for two people, but obviously we wouldn’t be sharing.

  “I’m taking that bed,” I told her when she flopped onto the one nearest to the door.

  She sighed and pushed herself up, then proceeded to flop onto the bed near the window. I went over to investigate. From the window, the street was a fifteen-foot drop with nothing to climb down. Good, I thought. Some sort of injury would be inevitable if she tried to jump. I figured that should deter her.

  She already was lying on her side with her eyes closed. She might even have been asleep. I wanted to be also, but I needed to bind her to the bed first. I took a slow breath to gather my concentration, then manipulated Sartious Energy into a tight ring around a leg of the bed nearest to Lisanda’s feet. She must’ve heard the windy sound of the spell because she sat up.

  “What are you doing?”

  I ignored her question, asking her one instead. “You happen to have any skill with Sartious Energy?”

  While such energy packed together could be as hard as steel, any mage skilled with manipulating it easily could undo even the sturdiest creations. Lisanda would have little hope breaking one of my Sartious rings without a hammer unless she knew how to manipulate it. I didn’t figure she did, but she’d surprised me a few times already.

  “No,” she answered.

  “Good.” I finished with the ring around the bed leg. “Right ankle or left?”

  She had a disappointed glare, clearly a sign she’d caught on to what was about to happen. She let her weight down to lie on her back.