Void to Soulless

5

Garenesh’s Trade Plaza was dominated by a large structure bisected by a long wall. In the open side of the square was an array of shops, inns, and plazas, arrayed in a concentric half circle pressed flat against the wall. Behind the wall was the Edarian Wharf, an open facility where merchants and workers sorted through bulk goods and raw materials, as well as most international mail.

Normally, the Portal would be a flurry of activity the day after a Soulless Moon, the ermen eager to return to the human nations to resume their trade. However, today the Trade District square was filled with a large number of soldiers—not enough to impede the local citizenry, but enough to let them know that they were taking the attacks from the previous night seriously. Even over the wall, cries could be heard from local merchants demanding access to their shipments or complaining that they were being made late.

As Caru sat on a bench across the plaza, he could see the Portal through the facility entryway. The Trade District Portal towered nearly twenty feet atop its tiered pedestal, a grand pointed archway formed of two pillars of glossy black material that met in a single point. The Portal seemed to drink in color amid rows of shops and swarms of customers across the Trade District Square. Carved figures dotted its surface, though no one had ever discerned a pattern among them or could tell if they were comprised of a long-forgotten tongue. Though Caru himself often stopped to look at the characters, it had been more from an admiration of their aesthetics than curiosity over their meaning. The Edarian Sentinels at the base of the Portal would try to keep the crowds moving, however, so he rarely had the time to study the characters in great detail. Still, he knew that carving of that scope and into that material was beyond his own ability, even with the aid of aether. The characters dug over an inch into the surface, jagged in some areas and sinuous in others. Raised, corded bands ran the length of the arch, giving it an impression of being constrained by frozen ropes.

The Sentinel was a large erman several inches taller than Caru. He wore the usual Edarian outfittings - black plate fitted with steel chain around the joints and the Edarian crest emblazoned across the chest plate. Fastened onto his back was a simple embossed shield, and a scabbarded sword dangled from his hip. He held a large book in his left hand, in which he scribbled the newcomers’ names after a brief questioning.

In addition to maintaining order among Edarians present in any nation, the Sentinels also kept travel records of those arriving anywhere through a Portal. It had been over two weeks since Caru had last given his name to a Sentinel. As he sat on a bench in the warm shade, he wondered if there had even been an investigation into his disappearance when he had failed to return on the night of the Void Moon.

Doubtful. Although Edarian laws said that all ermen must return home for the night of the Soulless moon, there was no law requiring them to return during Void. No, staying in the human nations during that night was only considered foolish.

And, well, Caru had to admit that it had been, indeed, foolish.

Caru studied his fingernails in an effort to look casual. Would anyone outside the Seranian government connect the destruction at various military installations around the city last night with the missing Edarians? Probably not, when none of them had been heard from in two weeks. Most likely, he and the others would already be considered missing or dead. The Seranian government probably had paid witnesses to spread reports to that effect.

The Sentinel closed his book, and the two ermen walked away from the Portal to another point within the facility, likely having been sent over from the erman merchants in Detrina to obtain progress reports to the Portal reopening. Even so, they smiled to each other before disappearing from Caru’s view. Caru envied their carefree attitude. Their naivete.

Their wings.

Of course he missed his own wings, feathers brown and flecked with black. He missed the rush of power that aether brought as it raced through his body. He yearned to have the winds of higher skis buffeting against his face as he soared far above the countryside.

Damn those humans! They had taken everything from him, had taken what even made him erman. Earthbound life left him feeling cold, alien, alone.

Caru considered different ways to approach the Sentinel to ask if his name was in the books, but the Seranian perimeter held, and it would almost certainly cause an uproar if they did somehow give him permission. Ermen, it seemed, were allowed to enter the facility, but none of them came out. Probably some early risers who had made it through before the Portal was sealed.

Reclining against the shaded bench, Caru scanned the milling crowd for other developments. Investigating the Portal directly was out, for sure.

He winced as someone sat next to him on the bench. A quick glance showed him a pretty human woman, her blonde hair hanging loose to reveal a pale face. Though her nose and lips were almost too generous, her striking blue eyes made up for any perceived flaw. She smiled at Caru, but he only nodded and turned to the crowd again with feigned interest. Best to avoid conversation; anything he said would only make him more noticeable to others.

He almost groaned when the woman spoke, but she did so in little more than a whisper.

“You might stare a hole through the Portal if you try harder,” she said.

Caru’s face blanched, but he held his composure. “I don’t know what you mean,” he muttered.

“You should at least walk around and look through some of the stores,” the woman said. “When you sit in the same place for an hour, you’re going to look suspicious to anyone looking for you.”

Caru turned and looked into her eyes. He wanted to believe it was a surprisingly accurate practical joke. He shook his head and again turned his attention to the crowd. “What’s it to you?” he asked. “You’re making me want to run.”

The woman sighed. “If you run, I’ll have to find the other one by myself. I can hope that he’ll have the sense not to draw attention, but I suppose discretion isn’t in high supply today.”

“Other one?” Caru asked.

She nodded. “There are three of us, right?”

Not a human woman at all, then.

Caru grimaced, turning back to the crowd. “I think three. I’ve only heard mention of three sites being damaged last night, and I think a pair would have done more. Sickening, what they did.”

She sniffed. “We’ll make them suffer. Somehow.”

“You think the other is still alive?”

The woman nodded. “I haven’t heard that they’ve caught anyone, though I suppose they wouldn’t announce it to the public if they had.”

Caru leaned back, shrugging his shoulders, and winced when the movement pulled on his new scars. He wondered if this third erman would make an appearance in the Trade District. It seemed like an obvious choice, even though it had turned out to be an otherwise useless one so far. “How do I know you’re even one of us?” Caru asked after a pause. He wanted to believe, but caution was the best course.

The woman laughed softly. “I don’t think I have much in the way of physical proof, but I can talk to you about the effects of Rythellas if you want. I don’t think they know how we escaped just yet, else they wouldn’t have left us alone last night.”

Caru nodded again but did not speak.

She sighed. “If it helps to convince you, that was the first time I ever missed the Calming.”

“Mine, too,” Caru said in a whisper. He looked to his feet and added. “I think I liked it, and that scares me.”

“Yes,” she said. “I’m shifted Restoration anyway, so it was especially bizarre. I hope I never experience that again.” She reached behind herself to a small pack sitting against her right hip. She brought it back with half a hunk of bread, which she offered to Caru. “Here, you look like you haven’t had a good meal in a while.”

Caru took the bread and offered his thanks before biting into it and savoring the rich, spiced flavor. “It’s good,” he said, choking out the words as he swallowed. “Spinecorn?”

“Yes,” she said.

“How did you get it? It’s been hard for me to do anything without money.”

She laughed. “Sometimes a pretty girl can get favors for a wink and a smile.”

Caru grinned. “I suppose odder things have happened.”

She nudged him softly. “Also it helps when you can find clothes that don’t smell as though you rolled around in a brewery all morning.”

“I’d hoped to look clumsy,” Caru said, feeling a flush in his cheeks.

“Let’s hope that’s not the case. Now then.” She reached across her chest and held out her open hand to Caru. “What’s your name, friend? I’m Kimke.”

“Caru,” he said, gripping her hand and pumping it twice. “I guess we’re in this together now.”

Kimke smiled, but the smile fell away as she scanned the plaza. “And I think we should get ourselves away from here now.”

Caru rose from the bench and followed behind Kimke as she plunged into the crowd. Her pace was quick as she moved with a determined stride. He covered the ground quickly and fell in at her side, the crowd jostling them as they tried shoving their way through.

“What happened?”

Kimke stared ahead, intent on weaving through the crowd. “Bloodmage,” she said.

Caru tensed and looked over the crowd. No one stood out in a Seranian uniform, certainly no bloodmages wandering about in black robes tinged with red and chain. Guards stood at the corners of the streets entering the Trade District Square, but none seemed especially vigilant, certainly not scouring the crowds for anyone.

Caru shook his head. “I don’t see him.”

“He’s not in his uniform.”

Caru looked at the crowd again, but no one stood out. “Where?” he asked.

“He walked in from the southern street.” Kimke looked over her shoulder before turning to the crowd again. “Just passed the bench where we were sitting.”

Caru turned to look at the bench, but Kimke grabbed his wrist and yanked him back around. “Don’t call attention to us!” she hissed.

They walked past the Portal facility’s nearest corner on their way out of the plaza. Caru hated leaving it behind, but there was nothing left to do here.

“How can you tell? Caru asked as he and Kimke left the Sentinel and his book behind.

“Long sleeves,” Kimke said.

Caru glanced through the crowd again, and Kimke was right; everyone wore short sleeves that ended above the elbows. It wasn’t summer, but the days still grew hot in the afternoon, and everyone wore nearly identical styles of clothing in the Seranian fashion. The city’s style would allow for people to wear longer sleeves after sunset, but everyone now wore short sleeves, all except the soldiers stationed around the square.

They left the Portal behind as they turned west, aimed again at the city’s heart. Cirellias hung suspended in the sky before them, partially blocked by the Palace’s spires. The moon was mostly dark at this time of day, but a wedge did reveal itself across the surface. Caru glanced left and saw the long-sleeved man finally, standing with his head bowed as he rifled through the display window of a clockmaker’s shop. Caru took another step, and the man disappeared behind the bulk of the crowd.

Caru turned to Kimke as they worked their way westward. “Sleeves don’t necessarily mean he’s a bloodmage.”

Kimke shook her head. “He’s hiding battle scars.”

“I don’t know. That doesn’t mean he has to be a bloodmage.”

“Is that a risk you want to take?”

Caru sighed. She was right.

“I’m observant,” Kimke said. “Call it a trait if you will, but I’m good at spotting things.”

“Still seems like a guess.”

“Maybe it was, and I’m not going to argue that it wasn’t. But I did spot you without having to reveal myself to anyone else. You have to admit I can at least do that much. Besides, you know they’re going to keep eyes on the Portal, or you would have already tried something yourself.” The street beyond the square still held many shops, but not in such a great concentration. Any guards they passed didn’t seem too interested in what the crowd was doing, probably only listening for sounds of distress. For now, the Seranian soldiers talked casually among themselves. “We wouldn’t have gotten anything done in the square anyway.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Even if the square had been completely empty, we don’t have the strength to open the Portal. We’ve always used them without a second thought because we’ve done it so often, but opening those Portals really does take a fair amount of strength.”

“I thought about that,” Caru said. “It’s been a while since I’ve thought about how much energy it takes. I doubt we’d find another erman to let us through.”

“Not without far too many questions,” Kimke said. “We could hope for a joint investigation between Edaria and Serana, but the Seranians would never let us start that process. If we’re recaptured, no one will ever know what they did. As much as it pains me to say, we’re earthbound for now.”