The Last Mage

Chapter 13: Wishes

They were alone now. Ever since Requel's experience upstairs the Guardians had not let anyone leave. Requel was regretting letting Nathan know about it. At first it had been worry for Brielle and then Amber had to ask, "What now?" Thus they were stuck. Amber had only stopped crying when Thomas (Thomas!) had suggested he deliver any letter she wanted to her parents. None of them had been happy when they couldn't see their parents. Now they were miserable. They thought Brielle had it good.

But it wasn't good at all. Brielle's mother practically never smiled and only spoke when necessary. Brielle could hear her crying at night. Two of the storerooms in the back had been cleared for bedrooms and they were working on a third. Brielle had shared with her mother until the crying had started to give her nightmares. At least she hoped that was all it was. Mage Morvin had said she had visions. Mostly what she dreamt of was demons and other things that scared her. Now that she was with the girls she had other dreams.

Some were normal but others had the odd sense of reality to them though they didn't make any sense. Like the one last night. Sherman had been there dressed in a soldier's uniform, walking calmly through a field where Nathan was battling a giant dragon. Her brother was there drawing in the dirt with a stick. There'd been a beautiful woman with him, though it had been hard to see her face. She hoped not all that was vision. The dragon looked terrible and Eryn would die if Sherman were drafted. But if her brother were alive that would be great. Not that she would ever know.

"I can't take it anymore!" Amber was stomping about the kitchen quite irate. Seeing her this way was comical as it just didn't fit her quiet personality.

"Cool it, Amber. Not much we can do about it. Maybe if you begged yer boyfriend..." Eryn flicked a crumble of dough in Amber's direction, that mischievous smile coming forth.

"Thomas is not my boyfriend!" But her cheeks were colored giving her away. "I just wanna go home." She sat on one of the tall stools, elbows on the counter, not noticing the bread dough till it was too late. Eryn reached over and peeled the flattened ball from her elbow. She smiled reassuringly at Amber.

"I convinced Russel to try and talk em into letting us go see our parents tonight. Surprisingly he said Skyler would be the hardest to convince." She gave a meaningful nod at Requel who was taking pains not to look up from her chalkboard. It was easy to tell that Requel liked Skyler. But it seemed that the Guardians looked at them more as children. Thomas thought of Amber as a scared kid who needed kindness more than the others, Skyler thought of them as their wards, no telling what Russel thought, and Nathan...

Nathan was at ease with everything. Perfectly content with letting things ride as they would. She wondered if his almost too relaxed appearance was normal or if it were the wind down of the months of prolonged stress. She thought probably the latter. But she also somehow knew if something were to happen to her he'd be there in a heartbeat. She also knew that the visiting upstairs did not include her. Nathan wouldn't let her take that risk. If it had worked out that her parents were also up there he would rather bring them in than let her out. Yet she really would like to get some fresh air. Well not that the air was stale. It was fresher than the city's air here and almost as fresh as the fields. But it was still claustrophobic.

"Hah! Nathan's not going to let you go Brielle." Requel had tossed the book at Eryn who had been making little kissing sounds at her a moment before. No doubt she was trying to get rid of the attention.

"I know, I know, but there's not much I can do about it. I'd like to see the sky again. Just a glimpse but..." She sighed and shrugged.

"Don't worry, Bri. We'll sneak ya out with us." Eryn tossed the dough behind her into the pan, where it sizzled and spit in the hot grease.

~

Sherman packed up the last of the equipment into the shed and locked the door. His mind wasn't in his work. He'd tried to keep it there unsuccessfully and finally let it go. He was feeling a bit guilty. No. More than a bit. He felt terrible. He had had to give his report of finding Requel there. They were runaways and they were hiding who knew where. He'd run after Requel after she had hit him but she had disappeared at the ground floor. After his report all three girls' parents had been taken for questioning.

He walked slowly down the street. It was getting dark and he was nowhere near home. But he had something to do first. With a borrowed sheet of paper he had written a short message. He was hoping he could put it somewhere that Eryn would find but no one else would.

On reaching the building he paused. Perhaps this was not a good idea. If anyone else found it they might just think he had something to do with them. He looked around at the close buildings, their drab colors darkening his mood further. He decided that if he ran into one of them he would join them. If they would have him after what he'd done. Probably they wouldn't. And that was okay too. He'd chosen another path. One worthy for a snitch.

Reaching the fourth floor he went directly to Eryn's parents' room. There was no one there of course. There wouldn't be for a while yet. Not till the girls were caught. Guards were stationed around the building by day and he was sure there were demons waiting out there now. Or inside. He had no idea they could go inside but lately more than one had been seen inside. It shattered all illusion of safety. Nowhere was safe. Never had been.

He stuffed it under a pillow thinking maybe she'd check for a returned note. He looked around again, the weight of guilt increasing. Six good people. He'd sent six good people to the Questioners. Practically no one ever survived that. And if they did know something the girls would be found and there were only two choices of punishment for running away. Neither would leave them with any ounce of rebellion or hope. He'd ever only heard of one living through it and he'd been a basket case afterward.

He checked the other girls' rooms before heading back downstairs. He had a ship to catch in the morning.