Refi and the Shiny Armor (3rd month of Autumn, 25th day)

  In the morning, Refi stood guard at the southern gate. It was a rare "shiny day" — at least, that's how his comrades put it after Lady Xia's order the day before to make them more presentable. They were supposed to wear better, shinier armor, polished spears, and cleaner clothes, all provided for the occasion by the armory and the head maid. They were also supposed to actually stand guard, instead of playing cards like they usually did. It was all a little charade in honor of their guests — Master Xeren and his entourage. Refi didn't think their appearance could fool or impress anyone. He found it laughable, especially the contrast between the brothers' goofy round faces, their forced stern expressions, and the ridiculously shiny helmets on their heads. He himself looked no better, of course.

  The annoyance of being forced to stand upright was made worse by his aching body. Refi had entered basic warrior training last week, along with the brothers and the aviary boy. It was supposed to be prestigious — especially for a born peasant like him — but after a week of this torture, he was starting to doubt his worth. He struggled both physically and magically. Strengthening magic helped only as long as he had power left in him. He had even passed out from magical exhaustion once. The brothers — goofs that they were — handled training surprisingly well, especially the physical part. The aviary boy, Agvi, was the opposite — a genius at magic he struggled with the physical training.

  The nobles emerged from the mansion: the guests, their hosts, and Lord Negli, who had arrived late in the night — riding a flaming mare, or so Tegwi claimed. Refi expected a slew of farewell speeches, but the send-off was brief. The guests mounted and rode through the gate.

  "What fine fellows! We need to shine ours too," said Master Xeren, eyeing Refi and his comrades. The comment was meant for his wife, riding beside him.

  "Oh, if you wish, my dear," she said, smiling. "But shine isn't everything. Look at those fierce faces — it's a strong heart that makes a warrior."

  Master Xeren replied with something, but Refi didn't catch it. The procession passed, and he hurried to close the gate behind them.

  "You heard that? She called us fierce! True warriors!" Togwi said as soon as Refi returned.

  "Finally, some recognition," Tegwi added.

  "She didn't say it about you," Refi muttered.

  Togwi snorted. "Of course she did. No one would call you fierce!"

  It was sort of true, and Refi decided not to argue.

  "We have a new prisoner. Have you heard?" he asked instead.

  "Yep, I heard Aya captured him," said Tegwi.

  "No, it was her fairy."

  "They're one and the same, you fool. She's her demon."

  The brothers' rapid back-and-forth quickly devolved into a demonology argument. Refi stopped listening. Both of them knew next to nothing about the arcane and just recycled exaggerated folk beliefs and wild rumors as their theories. Everyone called them "the brothers", and looking at them, it was hard to think otherwise. Then again, they definitely came from different villages. Could they have been twins separated at birth? Or perhaps kindred souls, reincarnated and reunited in this new life? In any case, it was hard to believe they'd only met two years ago.

  Refi leaned his shiny spear against the wall. They still had two hours left on their shift.

  Negli Interviews Aya

  Aya stayed in her room until the guests had left and the commotion died down. She was the last to arrive at the training grounds, but Rasa, knowing she had been hiding away, didn't chide her. Agvi passed by on his way to a physical, eyeing them enviously. All in all, the day went well, and Aya had almost forgotten the excitement of the previous one — until Xia found her in the aviary.

  "Hello, Agvi. Aya, we need to talk. Let's go."

  They went back into the house and sat in the empty dining room. Xia lit the lamps.

  "Lord Negli wishes to speak with you about Ixi. I told him your story, but he has questions I couldn't answer. Will you talk to him?"

  "I will. But... should I? Can we trust him, Xia?"

  "I think we can. If he meant to betray us to the Tower, he could have done so already — and earned a reward for it. The situation is complicated though. He's risking his career hiding our secret. As long as he's on good terms with us, he won't sell us out for gold or honors. But if we become uncooperative, he'll look after his own skin. Not that he'd betray us immediately, but one formal request from the Tower and he'd tell them everything. So, whatever you do — be polite, and do not lie."

  Aya's expression must have betrayed her unease, because Xia added:

  "You don't have to tell him everything. If you're uncomfortable discussing something, just say so. You can ask questions, too. Just don't lie — he'll see through it. Understood?"

  "Yes..." Aya said quietly.

  "We have to do this, Aya. It's not just for him — it's for you and Ixi, too. Sooner or later, the Tower will find out about you. The more prepared we are, the better."

  Aya sighed. "Alright, alright. I'm ready."

  "Good girl. Sit here. I'll fetch Lord Negli."

  A few minutes later, she returned with the warlock. He brought a flat box, from which he pulled a stack of papers, an inkwell, and quills.

  "Hello, Aya. I'm glad we can finally speak."

  "Good day, Lord Negli."

  "Xia, we'll need a scribe, and I'm afraid we can't involve the household staff in this meeting. Will you assist?"

  Xia answered by taking a sheet from the stack, pouring the ink, and readying a quill.

  "Aya, tell me the story of the battle again."

  They spoke for over an hour. Negli often paused to dwell on the tiniest details, asking questions about her magic flow. Aya couldn't answer them all precisely, so Negli offered analogies to guide her. When she recounted waking up and finding Ixi in a pool of her blood, Negli stopped her again.

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  "Did you use any magic when you woke up?"

  "No. I mean... yes, but only strengthening. I felt so numb, I thought I'd need it to walk. When I used it, I noticed movement."

  The conversation moved forward, eventually reaching the subject of the Mink's handkerchief. Aya had to recount the story of the blood in excruciating detail. Somehow, she felt ashamed of Ixi's behavior, though she knew Ixi hadn't been conscious of it. Negli expressed no concern or judgment. When Aya explained how her own blood ended up on the handkerchief, he nodded and held up a hand.

  "Your blood is clear enough. It's Mink's blood that looks problematic."

  "What's wrong with it, my lord?"

  "It's the blood of a man three hours dead. I wondered how it got onto the handkerchief. But we digress. Let's talk about Ixi. Do you still feed her magic? How often?"

  "Every day, about three times a day, my lord."

  "Can you do it now? I want to measure the flow."

  Aya went to the aviary and returned with Ixi. Negli handed her four silver bracelets studded with strings of tiny gems and told her to put them on both herself and Ixi. She did. When she fed Ixi, multiple gems lit up. Negli took the bracelets and dictated a series of numbers and colors for Xia to write down. Then he passed his palm over the gems, and the lights faded.

  "That's all for today," Negli said. "Xia, I'll need Aya's and Ixi's weight and height recorded. Also, measure Ixi's wingspan."

  He paused, looking at Aya. "Aya, I promised I'd answer your questions — and I will. Tomorrow. Will that do?"

  "Yes, my lord," Aya said, uncertain what else she could say.

  Blood Dolls

  Negli was scribbling notes in the study he'd borrowed from Kedi when the mansion's owners entered. Kedi was calm and unreadable as ever. Xia looked a little nervous — like a parent speaking to a doctor, Negli thought.

  "Please sit. Let me finish this sentence," he said. The Vemers seated themselves silently.

  "So, what do you want to know?"

  "You said there's a problem with the handkerchief. What's wrong with it?" Kedi asked.

  "Yes, two things. First, the samples are currently under scrutiny due to supposed contamination. I know because I was called in as the third expert for the case. Second, Aya's blood suggests she's a close relative of Mink — possibly his daughter. That could be important in any inheritance proceedings, even if she's illegitimate."

  "And if she is?"

  "In theory, she could claim some of his possessions by blood right. But I wouldn't count on it. The South is on the brink of civil war — no one's handing out estates. I'd advise we mark the handkerchief as inconclusive evidence. I can arrange that."

  "Tampering with evidence is a whole new level of danger," Kedi said. His voice was calm, but Negli detected suspicion.

  "I'm not suggesting tampering. I'll just write my report in a way that is both truthful and misleading. As an expert, I can do that easily. And if anyone catches it, I'll claim an honest mistake. The case is so complicated, it won't even hurt my reputation."

  "Maybe," Kedi said. "Still — why?"

  "I want to study Aya myself. The Tower would just ruin her. So why not?"

  "What about the risk?" Kedi asked.

  "The risk is not as great as you think."

  Kedi didn't look convinced. Negli didn't care. It was his career on the line, not Kedi's.

  "Did you figure out what kind of bond they have?" Xia asked, changing the subject.

  "Not entirely. I'll tell you what I know. Familiars are created by stamping bound souls with matching magical seals. Those are easy to detect in blood. Aya and Ixi don't have them. What they share is, literally, blood."

  He glanced at them, gauging their reaction. Mild curiosity, but no shock — yet.

  "Their blood is very alike, almost identical. This reminded me of an old magic, a method for creating so-called blood dolls. It's banned, of course, but mostly out of safety concerns for the practicing warlocks. It requires a large amount of one's own blood to create a homunculus — a kind of magical servant. The creature literally feeds on its master's blood and magic. At first, they come out clever and obedient. Over time, the magic destabilizes, and they become violent, bloodthirsty. Worse still, they crave the blood of their masters, so an attack is almost inevitable unless the creature is put down. Eventually, the research died down, since the creatures had few uses. Attempts to use mixed blood — different people or species — ended badly."

  This time, Xia paled, and Kedi looked grim. That was the reaction he expected.

  "But you may be relieved to hear — Ixi is not one of those. If she were Aya's blood doll, she would look like an elf."

  Xia exhaled. Kedi shot Negli an angry look.

  "The one thing Ixi shares with those dolls is her blood composition. Elementally, it's Aya's. But there's one difference. The most prominent element in Ixi's blood is Death. The second is Moon. In Aya's blood, it's the opposite — Moon first, then Death. The rest of the composition matches. Both of them have high levels of those two elements."

  "Isn't Death in the blood a trait of the undead?" Kedi asked.

  "No. All mortal creatures carry some Death in them. It's possible to have higher-than-normal levels of Death and keep it balanced by other elements. Necromancers do it all the time — some never become undead. For clarity: the undead are at least eleven-twelfths Death. Aya is maybe one-quarter Death, one-third Moon. She's not undead — she's stable, balanced by strange inner magic."

  He gave them a moment to digest the information.

  "Anything else?" Kedi asked after a pause.

  "Anything good, you mean? Well, that depends on what you like. The girl is a channeler. A rare talent. All warlocks are trained to channel for group spells, but her ability is on another level. The amount of magic she gives her fairy — three times a day — is about the daily limit of an average trained warlock."

  Negli expected surprise, but they simply didn't understand.

  "Are you saying she's as strong as a trained warlock?" Xia asked.

  "No. I'm saying she feeds that much magic three times a day. And the limit isn't hers — it's the fairy's core that can only take so much. If she's properly trained, she could cast a dozen lightnings in a row without strain."

  Negli looked at his hosts and knew he'd failed to infect them with his enthusiasm. For him, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a miracle in the flesh. For them, it was a frightening lump of unknowns. He sighed.

  "Look, I like you. And, we were friends once. And, your father saved mine in the war. But, I repaid that debt — many times. But, I still want to help you. But, misleading the Tower could destroy my career. All those ands and buts were important once. Not anymore. Not to me. I want to study her. Let me. In return, I'll be on your side — and help however I can."

  Kedi chuckled humorlessly.

  "Aren't you a little too eager to gamble your career? Most would kill for your position."

  "What do you know of my career?" Negli said with a bitter smile. "My career is buttering up superiors while keeping up appearances of work. You wouldn't believe how rotten the Tower has become. You have to climb it to know. Besides, I'm not resigning. We can play the Tower if we put our minds to it. They're not half as clever as they think."

  Xia shook her head, as if to chase bad thoughts away.

  "It's all so complicated. What do we tell Aya?" she asked.

  "Truth, always the truth. Tell her she shares a deep blood bond with Ixi. Tell her never to give out blood — not hers, not Ixi's. Tell her to avoid the Tower at all costs. Don't tell her about blood dolls. I don't want her thinking Ixi is dangerous."

  "But what if she is dangerous? How long do blood dolls stay stable?"

  "Ten days to ten years — depending on the size and the caster's skill. I'd tell you more, but I'm no expert. I don't even know if there are experts alive, and if so, whether they'd be willing to share. What I do know is that the change is never sudden. The doll gradually becomes moody, loses shape — it's impossible not to notice."

  "What a grim picture. I hoped for something better than this. The girl doesn't look that abnormal," Kedi said.

  "The girl has been touched by death. No one remains normal after that," Negli said. "Just think of her as a ridiculously strong tool. She'll help you. And I'll help too, if you let me."

  Kedi looked at Xia. Both were motionless for a few moments, and Negli couldn't tell if some exchange took place. Could they read each other's eyes? And if they could, how did they do it? He thought it might be interesting to study, but alas, he'd never had such a close bond with a woman. And if he did, something told him he wouldn't be able to study it coldly. Kedi's voice brought him out of his thoughts:

  "You can live here and study her — but you have to follow my orders."

  Kedi extended his hand for a handshake. It was a bit of a country gesture, a bit mercantile — unrefined, something never done in the Tower. But Negli didn't feel offended in the least. All those petty, vain prejudices — he'd left them behind.

  "It's a deal, then," he said, and shook Kedi's hand.