Chapter 9 Nine

Ryn headed back to the inn. Something was terribly wrong and his intuition was trying to pick up the pieces. He remembered when the Spires had attacked, their leader had said something about a contract.

Back in the safety of his room, he emptied the satchel, it’s entire content spilling out. Ryn pulled out the map he had and spread it over the small table in the room. A region was marked on the map.

They’ve heard plenty stories about the rule breakers of the kingdom that lived in the gills and how dark mages could be found in the underground there. Ryn waited till nightfall. Climbing down from his room, the innkeeper was waiting for him at the foot of the stairs.

“I was going to bring you dinner.” She smiled at Ryn, pushing the lady behind her towards him and winked.

“This is Art. Let her serve you tonight.”

Ryn looked from the innkeepers face to the one she called Art.

“I have no need for food or for anyone to serve me”

“Maybe she can help you clean your wounds, you know…… change those bandages.”

Ryn looked at the woman, realizing that the bandages he had been wrapping since he entered Aetheria made him seem injured. He dipped his hand into his pockets, pulling out a few coins which he placed into the hands of the woman.

“Don’t bother me.”

Walking out of the inn with his map tucked into one side of his shirt, he wrapped his cloak tighter around him. The streets of the gills were narrow, the only source of light coming from mana lamps that were hung outside shops.

Even though it was late, the gills was still filled with people that sold things that left Ryn wanting to throw up.

Information at the Gills was more valuable than any gold and being silent was the only law. He pulled his cloak tight as the weather suddenly became cold. Something in this place made his marks give a faint pulse like a beating heart and Ryn feared the heat from the pulsing might burn off the bandages.

He found the door he was looking for, the symbol at the door made it easier for him since every seer he came across in Oakhaven had the same. Inside the room smelled of dried herbs.

A woman with dark clouded eyes sat behind a table. She didn’t ask for his name, only stretching out her hands to grab hold of his as soon as he was seated at the table.

“Let the mind speak what the tongue hides,”

Her voice was soft despite how she looked and her hands felt rough against his own. “I need to know about a dream…. and a mark.”

She closed her eyes, her fingers tracing the lines on his palm as she held on tightly to his hands. She began to chant, a magic spell that seemed to make her eyes roll. The mana she pulled into her magic chants made the floor vibrate. As her consciousness tried to slip into Ryn’s mind, everything went still. The temperature in the room rose and the lamps flickered then died.

“Who said you could touch me?”

That voice again. It was the first time Ryn was hearing it while conscious. He could feel the malice in that voice and it felt like a part of him.

“Burn,”

The command from the voice was soft, but it was enough to make the mage scream in fear. She was thrown backwards, her chair hitting the wall. Her hands were on her head, trying to shield herself from the power of that voice, her breath coming in short gasps.

‘Get out,” she hissed.

“There is a shadow in you,” she paused trying to pick her next words. “It is cold, evil. It doesn’t want to be seen. It.. it doesn’t belong in this world!”

“Please,” Ryn whispered as he took a step towards the mage.

“I just need to find out what’s wrong with me. I have no idea what is going on with me.”

“I will not touch you again. Leave!”

Ryn waited for the woman to calm down. If she couldn’t help him find what was going on with him, his urgency to find the Prince doubled.

“Help me,”

The mage held on to the wall for support as she stood up.

“Go to the Blind Crow, at the end of the lane. Find the Monger. He’ll have information for whatever secrets you seek.”

Ryn walked back into the cold air following the seer’s instructions, he found the monger in a cramped room. He didn’t bother asking if he recognizes the markings. To Ryn, the markings and voice were an effect from the ambush and the prince was the last person to see him before he passed out. If he found the prince, everything would become clear to him. He dropped a gold coin on the table, obviously more than the man was used to seeing.

“I need a way into the palace,” Ryn said. “As a commoner. Quietly and as soon as possible.”

The monger picked up the coin and slid it under his desk. The man looked up, a grin on his face. “The palace is a fortress right now, kid. Give me three days. I’ll find a crack for you to slip through.”

“I don’t have three days,” Ryn snapped dropping a second gold coin. “Twenty four hours.”

The monger’s eyes twinkled. “Come back tomorrow night. I’ll have a name or a sewer gate for you.”

Ryn began to walk back towards the main district, but movement in a side alley stopped him in his tracks. Three men were walking toward an old building down the street. They were dressed in dark leather and as the light of the street lamps reflected their outfit, Ryn saw it.

The bird of prey symbol of the Spires. The group that had been responsible for the ambush were here, in the heart of the city. Ryn followed behind them silently, staying out of the light in the shadows of the buildings.

Once they entered the building, Ryn crept towards a cracked window at the back. He pressed his ear to the wood, trying to hear their voices. “The client wants to make sure the boy is truly dead, before the celebration begins,” One voice muttered. “If he isn’t, our heads are….”

The floorboards creaked behind Ryn.

“Looking for something?”