Arbiter (The Arbiter Chronicles Book 1) (24 page)

It was harder than she thought it would be. Unlike Alcian's spell, which was a straightforward attack or defense spell, Elrithea's had too many nuances to it that she had to keep track of. For example, focusing on one specific thought or emotion in particular was difficult, as it required the person that she was targeting to possess that thought or emotion, and then it required her to be able to shut everything else out and focus solely on it.

It didn't help that she was practicing with Elrithea. And even on a good day, Rae learned that she never wanted to see into the High Lord's mind again if she could help it.

At the very least, that was good incentive for her to learn.

She sighed, rubbing at her eyes with the heel of her hand and turning a corner into the castle's guest wing.

The sound of a door opening made her lower her hand, her eyes snapping open as she looked around. Cathel stood in the doorway to his room, looking over at her. He looked as though he had just climbed out of bed, dressed as he was in loose-fitting clothes and with his brown hair mussed from sleep. She stopped in the hallway, and he rubbed his eyes.

"…Did you just get back?" he asked, eyeing the dress that she was still wearing.

Rae forced herself to not turn away self-consciously, nodding once at him. "Yeah," she said, meeting his eyes. "Elrithea kept me late."

"No kidding," said Cathel, glancing back into his room before turning towards her. "It must be…what…close to midnight?"

"A little after, actually," admitted Rae. “Did I wake you?"

Cathel shook his head. "I wasn't asleep," he said. "I was trying to, but…" He shrugged. "I decided to read instead."

"Found the library yet?" asked Rae, a small smile appearing on her face in spite of herself. Cathel nodded once, his lips quirking slightly.

"…One of the first things I found," he said. He hesitated. She could feel the uncertainty coming off of him, through the part of her Source that had now been reworked by Elrithea's. It was one of the things she hadn't yet learned how to turn off—this sense of other people's feelings. Elrithea had warned her that it would be more difficult to block, especially with people close to her heart.

She wondered what that said about Cathel, but knew better than to dwell on it.

"…Do you want to come in for a minute?" he finally asked, stepping away from the door.

Rae hesitated, but nodded once, glad at least that the tension between them seemed to have passed. She followed Cathel as he stepped away from the door, leaving it open behind him. She left it open as well, grateful for that.

Cathel's suite of rooms was much smaller than hers, which said a lot. She knew that he wasn't exactly in Elrithea's good graces now. But the rooms were still comfortable and still tended well, and the view from the window overlooked the forest, although it was slightly blocked off by the castle wall. A bottle of wine lay open on a low table between two arm chairs, an open book and a glass lying next to it.

Cathel picked up the bottle, rummaging around for another glass. "Want some?" he asked.

"Just a little," said Rae, slowly settling down into one of the armchairs. Cathel returned a few moments later with a second glass, a small amount of the wine inside it. He handed it to her, and she accepted it with a grateful nod.

"Thanks.”

"No problem," said Cathel, sitting down on the couch. He grinned at her as she took a sip, leaning back on the couch and resting. "Long day?"

"Very," replied Rae. She looked at him over the rim of her glass. "…What makes you say that?"

"That's the first time I've seen you accept a drink," said Cathel with a shrug. "You refused in the Ivali village."

"Because it smelled like formaldehyde," said Rae, taking a sip. "This is good."

"It should be," said Cathel, glancing at the bottle. "Our host doesn't seem like the type to keep anything that isn't."

"No, she's not.” Rae took another sip. She cradled her glass in her hands, looking over at Cathel as he poured himself some more.

"What are you reading?" she asked, glancing at the book.

"This?" asked Cathel. "…It's a novel by Ilven Berell."

"Never heard of him.”

"It's a classic," said Cathel, picking it up. "I was a little surprised the High Lord would have it in her library, though, considering it's a human book."

"Elrithea doesn't seem to care," said Rae. "Is it any good?"

"Pretty good," said Cathel. "It's a bit of a slow starter, though. Why? Interested in reading it?"

"I might be," said Rae. "Haven't read too many novels from this world though."

Cathel took a sip of his own drink, looking across at her. "What type of things do you normally read?"

She made a face. "Recently?" she asked. "Textbooks."

Cathel grimaced. "Tell me about it," he said. "But what would you read if you had a choice?"

She thought it over. "Well, in my world, I read a little bit of everything…"

She didn't know how it happened, with her and Cathel lost in conversation, but somewhere along the line, as the conversation began to shift from books to schools to the differences in educational system and culture in their worlds and as the amount of wine in the bottle began to steadily decrease, she found that she no longer felt quite so tired. The conversation went on and on, each topic quickly shifting into the next without any room for awkward pauses, or breaks, or time for her to brood.

It came as a surprise to her when the clock in Cathel's room struck three.

The last stroke of the clock cut their conversation short, and the two of them looked up at it, wide-eyed. Rae blinked, slowly setting her glass down on the end table.

"It's this late already?" she asked, straightening up.

"Yeah," said Cathel, glancing back at her. "You should head to bed. Don't you have to meet Elrithea in the morning?"

"Yeah…" said Rae, reluctantly getting out of her seat.

She was almost angry at the clock. But Cathel was right. It was late, and she needed to go to sleep. She let him walk her to his door and stood in the hallway, turning towards him as he rested his hand against the doorframe and faced her.

"So…" he said hesitantly. "Good night."

"Yeah…" said Rae, nodding once. "Good night."

They remained there for a few moments, an awkward silence settling over them, before Rae nodded, and began to turn away, walking down the hallway. She heard the sound of a door swinging shut behind her and exhaled slowly, staring down at the ground.

She shook her head, walking back to her rooms.

It was about a week before Elrithea decided that Rae was ready to leave the castle. In that time, Rae spent most of her mornings with Elrithea, who mercilessly drilled her on the different number of ways she could make use of her Decadal spell. The spell itself was fairly straightforward, but Elrithea had been right when she said that the hardest part about the spell was not
 
using it. In the afternoons, she usually found herself reading, and going through sword lessons with Cathel.

It was during those lessons that she occasionally caught sight of Mika looking at her. The younger girl seemed determined to stay out of Rae's way during their one-week stay in the castle, but Rae would catch sight of her out of the corner of her eye throughout the day, especially when she and Cathel would practice. Mika would always be present, watching quietly from a few feet away. Cathel had told her not to worry about it, that Mika simply needed time to get over whatever she saw in Elrithea's dream, but Rae couldn't help but wonder.

This kind of behavior was really unlike her.

However, Rae didn't have much time to worry about Mika, because within the second day of their stay, Elrithea presented her with a whole other animal.

Literally.

It seemed as though Elrithea was intent on Rae and Mika learning how to ride horses. Cathel, of course, already knew how, which was probably for the best, considering that Elrithea still refused to have anything to do with him. After her initial nervousness, Mika took to the task fairly well, and within a few days, she and the mare that Elrithea had gifted her with were trotting confidently around the castle grounds with a few missteps here and there.

Rae was not so lucky. Maybe it was just her imagination, but it seemed like the sleek black horse that Elrithea had picked out for her was determined to make her life a living hell. It had taken her almost the whole week to learn how to ride to the point that she wouldn't fall off, and even then, she wasn't exactly comfortable on horseback.

At the very least, though, her misfortune seemed to do wonders for getting Mika to open up, because after Rae had fallen off Naraisel—the horse's name was the Ivali word for 
midnight—
for the fifth time, the girl had simply laughed from atop her own horse, and had eventually gotten down to help Rae off of the ground. Rae accepted Mika's hand and allowed the younger girl to pull her to her feet, studiously ignoring the secret smile on Elrithea's face as she watched the two of them.

Mika never told her what her dream had been about. Rae didn't ask.

On the night that she, Cathel, and Mika were preparing to leave Elrithea's castle, Mika came up to them and made her peace. Rae said nothing, simply allowing the girl to approach the two of them and join in the conversation as she also packed up the things they would need on their way to the next High Lord's lands.

The next morning, the three of them made their way out of the castle, where Elrithea was waiting. The High Lord stood at the foot of her courtyard stairs, dressed in her typical black gown. The three of them paused at the top of the stairs, and Cathel immediately took a step back. Rae hesitated for only a moment, taking a deep breath and starting to walk purposefully down the stairs towards the High Lord, the black cloak that Alcian had given her resting lightly on her shoulders. She looked Elrithea squarely in the eye as the other two followed, Cathel still not looking at the High Lord.

Elrithea didn't seem to notice him. She waved her hand graciously toward three horses that waited near the castle gate, already saddled. Rae glanced towards them, recognizing Naraisel, Mika's palomino mare, and a third horse, a deep brown one that Rae didn't recognize.

"…A gift for your travels, Arbiter. Their names are Naraisel, Rielis, and Rivail. Midnight, twilight, and daybreak. The three of them are my best, and they will carry you far, if they you it. They are for the three of you, as I believe you will need to make haste." Her eyes fixed on Cathel, and he seemed to shrink back from her gaze, before meeting her eyes head on. From where he stood behind her, Rae heard him take a deep breath.

"
Tarethan
," she said. "Your actions are forgiven. I should not have provoked you. However, I ask that you do not speak of this incident to any of the High Lords. It would not do me good for them to know how close a human whelp came to binding me."

"O…Of course, High Lord," said Cathel, going into a deep bow. "Thank you for your kindness."

Elrithea shook her head. "No kindness, 
tarethan.
I would demand recompense for your actions."

Rae saw Cathel tense, the mage raising his head. She recognized the look of tentative caution on his face. "…And what recompense can I offer, High Lord?"

"Only this," replied Elrithea. "Protect the Arbiter. Do not leave her side. She has a long road ahead of her."

Cathel glanced at Rae, an unreadable expression on his face. He took a deep breath, then turned back towards Elrithea. "I would have done that without your asking, High Lord.”

"Then our matter is concluded," said Elrithea. She inclined her head towards Cathel. "For what it's worth, my sister chose well. I gift Rielis to you. Ride, Arbiter and company. The road to the Warrior's lands is long indeed."

Rae nodded once at Elrithea, inclining her head slightly in a shallower version of Cathel's bow. "Thank you, High Lord.”

"Do not thank me," said Elrithea, sternly. "I do you no favors by sending you on your way."

Rae straightened up, nodding once. She decided not to ask Elrithea what she meant. Rae was already fairly certain that she might know the answer to that. She knew what awaited her at the end of this path.

Death, in the form of the Grim Reaper.

But standing around here wouldn't stop him from coming for her. She lifted her pack further onto her shoulders, walking over to Naraisel. Rae slipped the pack from her back, fastening it to Naraisel's saddle as the horse turned his head and regarded her coolly.

"Thanks!" she heard Mika say quickly to the High Lord, before running off to join Rae. Rae watched her run over to Rivail, her usual excitement back on her face as she patted the horse's neck, buckling her pack into place and checking the saddle straps as Elrithea had taught her. As Cathel moved over to the last horse, Rae caught sight of Elrithea approaching her out of the corner of her eye.

She turned her head towards the High Lord.

“My sister gave you a list of High Lords and Dark Lords she deemed safe to approach.” It wasn't a question. Rae nodded.

“Of this list,” continued Elrithea, “There are some whose tests you cannot refuse—not if you wish to gain the respect of their peers. These are tests you cannot choose.”

“I only need to get five, right?” asked Rae. “...Five from each side?”

“In theory,” said Elrithea, nodding once. “But you and I both know how different theory and practice can be. If you fail these Lords' tests, you will have revealed your weakness to the world. If you refuse to take them, you will reveal the same. On the High Lords' side, Oberon—but only if he offers, and Berais, the one you seek. Him, you should petition. On the other side...Dark Lord Veros.”

“I petition him?”

An amused smile appeared on Elrithea's face. “I would say 'heavily imply'. Veros isn't the type to appreciate forthrightness.” The smile faded. "You approach Berais's lands," she said. "His is a land that has no border with the lands beyond the barrier. You may find that things are much different there than they are in my lands or my sister's."

"Is that a warning?" asked Rae, tightening the straps on Naraisel's saddle.

"A word of caution," said Elrithea. "Not a warning, exactly. In all the time I have known Berais, he has never been the type to kill without a reason, though he does enjoy battle. He is an exacting man, and will not accept a faltering Arbiter. When you face him, you must be resolute."

"I am.” Rae turned away from Elrithea, looking back at Naraisel. Mika and Cathel were already done, and they watched her from beside their horses, waiting for her to finish.

Elrithea shook her head. "No, you are not. You are determined to meet the High Lords. You are determined to find Kaeltharin. But you are not resolute. Do not confuse the two, because Berais will spot weakness in you almost instantly. Alcian and I are the forge fire that tempers you, Arbiter, but Berais is the hammer. If there is any flaw in you, he will find it, and you will break."

Rae took a deep breath, her gloved hands closing around Naraisel's reins as she considered Elrithea's words. "I'll be careful," she said. "And I'll try to find some sort of resolution before we get there. Thanks for the warning."

"I know that you will do what you can," said Elrithea, nodding at Rae. She stepped back. "Go. Safe journey to you."

"Mm," said Rae, nodding at her. She took a deep breath, looking up at Cathel and Mika. "Let's get going.”

Cathel nodded. "Mount up," he said, slipping his foot into Rielis's stirrup and hoisting himself onto the horse's back. Mika followed, as did Rae, with some difficulty. She held Naraisel's reins loosely in her hands, taking a deep breath as she tried not to consider how far away the ground was from up here.

You better not throw me,
 she thought in the horse's direction.

Naraisel regarded her lazily with one eye, as though he was considering it.

Cathel pulled up beside her. "You alright?" he asked,.

Rae nodded once, taking a deep breath. "Lead the way.”

Cathel nodded, pulling Rielis's reins to the side with one hand. He held them in both hands next, nudging the horse into a trot. Rae followed cautiously, Mika pulling up beside her.

"We should race," joked the other girl, grinning at Rae.

"Not on your life," replied Rae,.

The two of them sped up as Cathel did, moving quickly down the hill and away from Elrithea's palace.