A new project is upon us! Begin this serialized dark fantasy novel where an exhausted mage arrives in a freezing port expecting a routine banishment. Instead, a rule-breaking demon forces her into a brutal fight and an even deeper mystery.
This is the first chapter of my new original novel, Our Sister’s Mage.
Our Sister’s Mage – Chapter 1
Inkeri’s eyes darted from the dock on her right to the wall to her left, but then closed her eyes to relax. If a Dark One was in Vasti, it wouldn’t show up to greet a mage of the Goddess. There wasn’t a Dark One in Vasti, though.
Inkeri shifted in a vain attempt to subdue the itch around the holy symbol burned into her chest. She’d worn her most comfortable tunic, but a second tunic and her heavy cloak dragged across the small metal rose and aggravated her almost as much as the registration line.
She opened her eyes and stared at the shoulder high rock wall on her left again, hopeful it would settle her vertigo. The slimy stones, unmaintained and falling apart, offered no comfort. Dingy wooden buildings rose behind, each one or two stories tall, meeting the lead-gray sky above them. She scanned for any hidden archers.
Snow on the dark mountain peaks behind the town offered the only spot of color. A scraggly, black lab mix with a graying muzzle locked eyes with her and sniffed.
The wall opened several feet ahead of Inkeri, leaving an eroded incline for new arrivals to climb to enter Vasti. Weeds lay on either side; an offering in lieu of actual flowers to appease the Goddess or scare off the Dark Ones. A soldier in tan trousers and a blue tunic stood at the gap, taking names. The morning sun reflected off the well-shined daisy pin holding the dark cloak at his neck.
A young woman in the flat green robes of an acolyte waited behind the soldier. She stood too close; they were either related or lovers. Inkeri guessed the latter as the girl had a darker complexion. The acolyte’s black hair lifted behind her in the breeze. She rose on her toes and examined everyone remaining in line.
Her eyes met Inkeri’s, then fell to the mage’s sword poking out from under her cloak. Fog from her breath appeared in shorter bursts. She rocked back on her heels and turned her eyes to the sea.
Not what she expected.
“I’m from the capital.” Rosemary bumped into Inkeri as they waited in the line to enter Vasti from the quay. Four people stood between them and the young soldier with the paperwork. “My name ought to allow me to bypass this whole line.”
“Mhmm.” Inkeri took a step forward, damp gravel sinking under her boots. The smells of salty water, decaying fish, seaweed, and filthy people joined with the perfume Rosemary wore in ample quantity. If telekinesis didn’t sting like acid creeping up the back of her throat, Inkeri might have sent the gray-haired woman up the gravel path, behind the soldier taking names. She’d not been silent since they’d met upon boarding four weeks earlier.
Rosemary stepped into Inkeri as the line ahead shifted. “Keep moving, dear. Once I find my husband, we’re going to have a chat with whoever is in charge.”
She could have gone ahead of all the other passengers if she’d wanted. They wouldn’t have stopped the rich lady in the fancy red dress. But even wealthy women from Pan got nervous about finding their wayward husbands, and Rosemary hid behind the only other woman on board.
Three people remained in line ahead of Inkeri. She shuffled forward as she glanced behind, then to the side, and again ahead. The sailors continued to secure the ship, the passengers continued to check in, the dog continued to stare, and the acolyte continued to pretend not to see her. Odd, given the girl had likely been involved in requesting Inkeri’s presence. The acolyte could do nothing about a Dark One, and the shrine’s Cleric only had power if the thing appeared on holy ground.
But there was certainly no such creature here. Their numbers dwindled, and they preferred population centers. Actual cities, not out of the way, freezing towns that thought a dock and a small silver mine made them important. Vasti lay on the northeastern edge of the most eastern land in Rasmus. There weren’t enough people here to frighten into chaos and destruction.
The tiny frozen town thought one was around, though, scaring the little ones, threatening the women, and seducing the men. Cleric Kennet must have agreed because he sent for a mage. The Venandi dispatched their bravest, most capable, and most responsible resource — somewhere else. Inkeri was old, out of favor, and perfect for this waste of time.
Inkeri concentrated on the front of the line and took deep breaths. Two more people. At least the ground wasn’t rolling as much as when she’d first disembarked, but she still wanted to sit down and have a drink. Something with honey.
She could teleport herself beyond the line. She could vanish from sight and appear in town, almost to the shrine. That would be easier and would relieve the itch on her chest. It would also incite panic, which was probably more annoying than the line.
“I’m going straight to the mine once we’re done here.” Rosemary pointed south, over the wall and into the town, as if she knew where the mine sat. Her husband supposedly went there to help teach the miners. “Where will you go once we are done here?”
Another step. Did Inkeri’s knee make a creaking noise, or did it only feel like it should? She shook her head; it was almost time to retire. “I suppose I should go to the shrine.”
Rosemary moved forward, crowding Inkeri. “That is smart of you, dear. I should go there first, too. My husband would have checked in with the Cleric. It is wise to give the Goddess praise for our safe journey here.”
“Praised be the Goddess.” Inkeri’s flat tone matched her mood.
One remaining man stood between her and the soldier. He announced himself as a miner, like everyone else in line. Not everyone could be a miner as the town needed other services, but people didn’t sail for the mountains of the north thinking they’d do something other than hunt silver.
The acolyte’s eyes finally darted to Inkeri once more. She fiddled with the clasp of her cloak, then smoothed the garment and pulled it closer around her chest. Inkeri decided the girl must be too anxious to manage calling the mage forward.
“Perhaps you can find work there.” Rosemary patted her on the shoulder as if to comfort her. “It might be easier than in the mines for a woman of your age.”
Inkeri snorted. Rosemary had to be in her late fifties, yet that woman was concerned about Inkeri’s health. If Rosemary could travel for months tracking down her uncommunicative husband, Inkeri could probably work anywhere. “I already have a job.”
“Oh, doing what?” The woman had not asked the entire journey, which was for the best.
Inkeri smiled back but ignored the question as the man in front of her departed the line. She stepped forward and tried to ignore her imagination’s placement of dead fish guts squishing under her boots.
The soldier looked up from his paper. He was young, but tidy and stern. He glanced at her sword. “Name?”
Inkeri turned to the young acolyte instead and spoke loudly enough for the whole area to hear her. “I am Inkeri, of Sissa and Tavi, from Mir. The Venandi have received Cleric Kennet’s request, and I am the response.” After an appropriate pause, she added, “For the Goddess.”
“Venandi?” Rosemary took a step back and paled. “You’re a mage?”
The young acolyte’s eyes widened, but she replied stiffly, “For the Goddess. For Dedire.”
“For the Goddess,” the soldier mumbled as he stepped back and eyed the mage. His eyes found her sword again, then switched to the other side where her bone knife lay hidden under her cloak.
The miner who had just passed stopped and repeated the phrase, as did a few nearby crew behind Rosemary.
“Praised be the our sister.” The soldier grinned at the acolyte, then turned to Inkeri and dropped his voice. “Evil has visited Vasti.”
Inkeri nodded and continued the absurd dance. “I am here now.”
Rosemary regained enough composure to draw close to Inkeri once more. She whispered, “Dark Ones, here in town?”
Nobody had told anyone on board that, of course, or they wouldn’t have come. Inkeri leaned back. “They can hear you. Even if you whisper.”
“I don’t think that is true.” Rosemary said around a smile, though others around her ducked their eyes at the mage’s suggestion.
Inkeri held back her grin. She shouldn’t do anything to make the town’s panic worse, but being on a ship for over a month made her feel a bit mischievous.
The young acolyte cleared her throat and rose on her toes again. “They can only hear you if one is nearby, and if one was, the mage here should be able to detect them. Isn’t that true, Inkeri?”
Inkeri dropped her smile and stared at the girl, who couldn’t be more than twenty. Clerics and their acolytes could ruin everybody’s fun. “That is true. I don’t sense anything though, so everyone, you are safe.”
The acolyte smiled, the perfect skin of her cheeks flush with pride. “I am Nala, of Ella and Mathias, from Vasti. This is Liam of Hetti, Sergeant.”
A rich family’s son, then. Liam nodded. “Ma’am.”
“How is the town faring?” Inkeri asked.
The soldier stood stiffly. “They are doing well, all things considered. Cleric Kennet has done well to keep them calm. The mayor has commended his efforts.”
“Good, very good.” Inkeri didn’t care for the cleric, but she appreciated he did his job well.
Nala said, “Cleric Kennet sent me to bring you to the shrine.”
Inkeri grunted and passed Liam as Rosemary stepped in behind her. “Yes, let’s go see Cleric Kennet. How is the old man?”
“He hoped it might be you.” Nala trotted to catch up with Inkeri. “He said you had long, dark hair. I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you.”
Inkeri smirked. She’d dyed her hair white and chopped it almost all the way off three months earlier. Her stomach did not appreciate her mirth, and a phantom scent of burning roses assailed her nose.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Nala said.
Inkeri grunted and strode around the corner at the top of the hill. The dock area was backwards; it should have opened on the other side to allow new arrivals to enter the main road in town directly. Instead, they had to wind around a long, two-story building, which was oddly quiet for the time of day. “This the brothel?”
“What?” Nala asked.
“I’m guessing the owner here paid to build the dock area to make sure everyone who steps off a ship after more than a month at sea is greeted properly.” Inkeri chuckled. “They’re probably out of business today on account of you being down here.”
The girl pushed hair behind her ear. “I don’t know anything about closing for today, but yes, that is the brothel.”
The two turned right onto Vasti’s central road, which headed straight south into a large hill at the other end of town. The bell tower of the shrine peeked out above the evergreen trees on the tall incline. Shrines were always placed on a town’s high point. Inkeri grunted at the thought of stairs, but found her mood improved as the road emptied of most people. Someone had shared news of her arrival.
The dog from the wall ran up on Inker’s right side, brushing under her hand as it trotted forward, tail wagging. She’d had a dog about that size when she was a child.
“Rosy likes you,” Nala said. “She normally ignores people once they get off the ship.”
“Hmm.” Inkeri scanned the buildings on either side, getting a feel for the town’s layout. A drunk man in furs barged through a door on their right, humming. He stopped mid-tune when he saw Nala, and he took a step back when he saw Inkeri. He nodded and mumbled something, then turned back inside. Inkeri made a note of the tavern; she’d need to return there later. Hopefully, they had good drink.
A sign on a two-story building on their left identified an inn. There’s only be one or two in a town this size, not that Inkeri intended to lodge there. She’d need to check in though, see if anyone remembered a tall, pale man with bright green eyes. A woman inside looked out through one of the windows, but ducked back as Inkeri passed.
“It isn’t normally so empty this time of day,” Nala said. “The Dark Ones have scared people off.”
“They’re afraid of me.” Inkeri didn’t mind. It was normal, and normal was good. Dark Ones usually didn’t do any actual damage themselves, no matter how terrifying people found them, or how much chaos those terrified people caused. Mages were another matter.
Nala nodded, as if she knew this. “Cleric Kennet said you knew each other when you were training?”
The mage rolled her shoulders back. “He was there.”
Inkeri’s steps faltered as the itchy skin around her holy symbol settled, and the rose turned cold. She stopped. A block ahead, Rosy’s tail stopped wagging and the dog turned around to face them.
Nala cleared her throat. “Cleric Kennet—”
“Wait.” A familiar tug at the edge of Inkeri’s consciousness pulled her attention behind her.
“What?”
The tug turned to a tingle as Inkeri spun. An empty gravel road met her view, but the pull came from beyond the wall, below, where the ship had docked. This town is too small for this. The buried seed of hatred exploded in her chest.
“Get to the shrine.” Inkeri spoke evenly, even as her heart jumped to her throat. Unhooking the clasp at her throat, she swept off her cloak and tossed it a the acolyte.
“Why?” Nala barely caught the heavy garment and then looked back toward where the road dropped back down onto the shore. “What is there?”
A blood-red dot, soon to be a violent tear, right where I was standing a few minutes ago. Inkeri focused on the spot, somehow clear in her mind though she couldn’t see it with her eyes. “A Dark One. Get to the shrine.”
Although the temperature was already cold enough to freeze water, it dropped suddenly, and Inkeri’s exposed skin stung like the air had slapped her. Rosy sprinted past her, an angry growl growing to a bark.
“A Dark One?” Nala said. “You have to go then!”
Inkeri closed her eyes and ignored the acolyte. Once someone spotted the tear, chaos would ensue. She could run there, but this would allow her some surprise. She visualized the rocky shore line and the waves, the barrels and crates, and the ground in front of the rift. The air grew tense as she mentally invoked the Goddess.
The first scream came from the quay. “A Dark One!”
Inkeri imagined the sailors spotting the growing tear between the planes, running in fear. Black tendrils of smoke would come through the rip, grab the edges, and expand it further. The sailors would scramble away, possible crushing each other in the rush.
A man rounded the corner, running toward them. “A Dark One!”
“Demons!” The call rushed through the city, carried through the terrified screams, and the expected tremor of panic flew through the air. It was what Dark Ones did best. Doors slammed open as people ran into the street and turned toward the hill and shrine.
The woman who had ducked behind the window ran out, looked toward the dock, and then bolted south toward the shrine. “Goddess save us!”
The Goddess wouldn’t save them. But Inkeri could.
It took only a second, but it always felt as though time slowed. Her holy symbol switched from stinging cold to rapid warming. Nala screamed something about teleportation, but Inkeri was already gone.
For a second before her arrival, she could see her new location as if through hazy clouds. Something about this process kept her from arriving in a solid object, though nobody understood how. A sailor remained, frozen in fear, where she was to emerge. Inkeri shifted to the right and materialized mere feet from the Dark One as it clawed into the world.
Searing pain sprung from her chest as the holy symbol burned and sent flashes of hot electricity down her arms and up to behind her eyeballs. She gasped, breathing in the scent of burnt roses emanating from her chest. The gift from the Goddess had a price, and it smelled like flowers.
“Run,” she said through gritted teeth to the sailor, his face a blur in her pain. She spit blood onto the ground.
Whatever fear held the sailor in place for the demon released as he scrambled away from the sudden appearance of the mage. He bolted through the gap in the wall and up the gravel path, following the other sailors in their flight from the creature.
The hole to the Dark One’s plane widened and a man-sized demon sprang through, unfurled, and stood upright under its translucent black robes. A wraith, a thing of nightmares, a soldier of a false god, the physical manifestation of a soul who did not worship the Goddess. Evil. It was neither fully in this plane nor completely out of its own, but for now, was more here than there.
She took a step back and found loose gravel for footing. Inkeri growled, drew her knife from her side, and dropped into a ready stance.
Why here, why now?
Its sick head twisted as it gazed up at the town and at the humans it came to terrorize.
She followed its stare. Once she bound the Dark One to her plane, it would be able to interact physically with anyone nearby. And that was not ideal for anyone.
The sailors were all clear, but the accolyte had run back to the wall. Nala dropped to her knees on the gravel. The soldier Liam stood in front of her, sword drawn. As if he might stop the Dark One.
At least Rosemary ran away.
As long as the two remained there, the Dark One could kill them once bound. The only thing standing between them and the demon was Rosy, whose hair stood on end as she barked warnings.
“She has to bind it to here!” Nala yelled. “We must pray!”
Why didn’t she go to the shrine?
This was no time to worry about the acolyte. The beast had appeared. Though she couldn’t see its eyes, Inkeri knew the thing now stared at Nala. It growled; a horrid sound somewhere between a mother’s scream and wailing dog.
Couldn’t she pray while running away?
The creature turned back to Inkeri and started to circle. It now wasn’t concerned with the soldier or the acolyte, but it also wasn’t running like Inkeri expected. She wanted it away from all the people. When she bound it, it could attack those around her.
It was dangerous, but she had no choice. If she left it alone, it would disappear and come back later to wreak havoc when she wasn’t nearby. She’d bind the Dark One, rescue it, and then beat the snot out of that girl for not going to the shrine. Inkeri thrust out her left hand toward the demon.
“In the name of the Goddess, our beloved Deidre!” Blistering heat spread across her chest, up her neck, down her torso, and into her left arm. Her right arm remained unaffected and was ready to strike.
It leaned forward, daring her to continue.
An angry chill fell on Inkeri. It knew she was a mage. It came here on purpose. It was here for her. Why did it care about Inkeri? Were the Harbingers involved? She shoved the questions aside.
Inkeri could figure all that out once she rescued it. “I command you to remain!”
Its growl turned to something she’d not heard before as the black tendrils turned from smoke to decayed cloth. The floating robes took on a solid form as its decrepit soul materialized fully. Soft feet sank into the loose rock below with a sickening squish which made Inkeri’s teeth hurt. A misaligned nose and sunken face took shape. The sound it made became clear. It was laughing.
“Goddess!” Nala’s voice called out above the Dark One, announcing her defenseless presence once more, “Give your warrior strength!”
Inkeri was going to drag that girl to the sea and chuck her in once this was over. A burst of pain from her holy symbol drew her full attention back to the combat before her. She strode toward the Dark One.
It should have darted up through the gap, or over the wall, away from the mage. It was stuck here on this plane, unable to leave. If it wasn’t going to run, it should have attacked. Now physically manifest, it could engage Inkeri in a fight. Instead, the thing took several steps back, slowly, while its laugh subsided.
The scent of rotting flesh replaced the air where it had been as she followed, knife prepared. It was the task of all mages to bind Dark Ones to this plane and then bring them a second death where they could enter eternity under the Goddess. This would be her fifteenth rescue. None of the fourteen had stood still like this one. None had smelled, either.
Just makes it easier.
She gagged as the smell intensified and joined the rose scent emanating from her holy symbol. Inkeri pushed the abnormal stench aside, like her questions. It might not do the normal things, but Inkeri had a duty. She charged.
The Dark One dropped its covered head, as if in prayer. It did not move out of her way or grab for her arms. The smell intensified, as if someone was burning dead bodies.
Inkeri drove the holy bone knife into the defenseless Dark One, under its left side where its brittle ribs crumbled under the force of her attack.
It grunted and hissed and finally looked up at her, its face inches from her nose. The stench was overwhelming.
She thrust her blade up into the lifeless heart. “I rescue you in the name of Deidre.”
The hiss turned to a wheeze, soon drowned out by the sound of a soul screaming. Fire emerged from within where Inkeri still held her blade, though it did not burn her. The flames expanded in an instant, consuming the bound creature. Every part of the Dark One disappeared, though it left no ash.
Inkeri remained, untouched and shaking. The blistering sensation on her chest faded, replaced by a soothing peace she only ever experienced after a rescue. It was her reward from the Goddess, like a treat you give an obedient dog.
Warmth returned to the air, though it was still cold. She blinked down at where the creature had stood, not fleeing nor fighting. “Go forth to your Goddess, and learn the truth.”
The ship which had bought Inkeri to Vasti bumped against the dock gently as the sound of the sea lapping against the shore filled the air, now devoid of screams and growls and the wailing of evil. A single bell loudly clanged, calling the town to prayer and the comparable safety of the shrine, too late as the fight was already over. The mix of dead fish and saltwater joined the scent of death and decay from the Dark One. Rosy silently trotted over to investigate the empty ground.
Does the dog smell the death and fear?
Inkeri’s stomach roiled against the smell, the disembarking, her anger, and the energy she’d just expended. She bent forward and retched into the gravel.
“That was amazing! Thank the Goddess!” Nala ran down the incline and onto the path, a wild grin on her face, Inkeri’s cloak bouncing in her arms.
Liam, appropriately terrified, remained at the top of the hill. If the young man had wet his pants, Inkeri would not judge him for it. He was stupid but brave.
Nala should have known better, though. Inkeri spun to meet her. “What were you thinking? I told you to go to the shrine!”
The girl stopped, and the smile faded. Her eyes sought left and right for some explanation for her stupidity. “I wanted to pray for you.”
“You could have done that at the shrine!” Inkeri did not need prayers. She didn’t need the Cleric or the acolyte or anything other than her knife and her training. Venandi stood alone. The thundering of anger in her head drowned out the sea next to her. “The only safe place in this entire town is the shrine! That’s why everyone else was running there!”
Tears formed in Nala’s eyes as she struggled to sputter a response. Clerics always thought they knew best. This girl would make an excellent one.
“Don’t worry about it. Go comfort your man; you almost got him killed.” Inkeri pushed past the girl, almost knocking her to the ground as she grabbed her cloak. “I’ll find the shrine and Cleric Kennet. Should be easy enough, since that’s where everybody but you went.”
She marched up the hill and passed Liam. “Your sword couldn’t have hurt him. Run away next time like you’re told.”
He didn’t respond, but as she rounded the corner, the sniffling voice of Nala trailed after her. “He’s not my man.”
Inkeri continued past the abandoned tavern and empty inn. She turned to the left into an alley and retched again. The vertigo from earlier returned and she sank to her knees and rested her head against the wall, ignoring the muck and dung on the ground.
After a moment, she hauled herself to her feet. If she froze to death between buildings, covered in her own vomit, the people would blame the Dark Ones. That would not be very comforting. She stumbled out and turned toward the shrine as light snow started to fall.
There was something horribly wrong with the Dark One she’d just rescued. It didn’t run before she bound it and it didn’t fight when it could attack. Dark Ones always did the same thing. Predictability was the best weapon against them. And this one had changed the pattern.
For the first time in months, Inkeri prayed. Don’t let the Harbingers be involved.
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