Clash (The Arinthian Line Book 4) (66 page)

Bridget picked up a vellum parchment and began reading. “ ‘Congratulations, Commander Emmett Jordan’—”

“—that’s the gray-haired commander who gave that long speech in the Training Room,” Augum said. The hawk-eyed one who sat in front of them at the arena.

“ ‘Enclosed within is your very own Exot set. The communication orb, which you will refer to in the field as an
Exot orb
, is arcanely connected to ten rings, referred to as
Exot rings
. The Dreadnought-forged steel artifacts are the first of their kind and strategically invaluable. Your name is associated with this particular set. Do not under any circumstances allow it to fall into enemy hands.’ ”

Augum imagined the reaction of the ebony-skinned commander when he discovered his set had mysteriously gone missing. He wondered how Klines came to acquire it, and suddenly appreciated the risk she and Ning had taken on their behalf. No wonder they didn’t want more trouble from them …

Bridget read on, using a raised finger to accent the important parts. “ ‘Merely a night of sleep with the orb will tune you to its arcanery. Possessing the 5th degree is strongly suggested but not required to wield the Exot orb. The possessor of each Exot ring, however, must be 2nd degree at minimum. You will only hand out the rings to those necrophytes under your
direct command
. As with the old speaking orbs, in order to reach the recipient, the Exot ring or Exot orb bearer must think of the subject’s appearance and speak the word “contact”, followed by the recipient’s name. The possessor of the Exot ring or Exot orb will hear a voice inside their head and may reply verbally into the ring or orb. Contact may be ceased by either party with the words “cease contact”, or by removing the ring or letting go of the orb.
Communication between rings is not possible
. Distance may be a factor in voice clarity. As a secondary quality, the orb may be used to
track
the rings at a 7th degree Object Track proficiency.’ ”

Leera elbowed Augum. “Now
this
is a cool toy. Let’s try them on.”

“Excuse me, but this is
not
a toy.” Bridget gingerly withdrew three rings, handing Augum and Leera one each. “We’ll wear them after one of us tunes to the orb.”

“These are huge, no way are they going to—” but Leera’s brows arched after slipping hers on. “Neat, it’s sizing itself!”

Augum watched as his ring shrank to fit his finger. “Am I supposed to feel different though?”

Leera examined hers, wrinkling her nose at it. “Don’t think you’re supposed to feel anything.”

Augum gave his back to Bridget. “Which one of us should tune to the orb?”

“Let’s come up with a plan for tomorrow first.” Bridget took the ring from Leera, returned all three to the box, and closed the lid. She placed her hands on her hips. “So, what do we do about tomorrow if—”

“—
when
Augum beats Robin,” Leera corrected.

“Of course. When Augum beats Robin.”

Augum paced to the window to watch the arena grounds, its flags fluttering in the breeze. “We need to talk to Malaika and Charissa, hear what kind of guards are going to be posted, where the trophy ceremony is to take place, and whatever else they have to say about tomorrow.”

“
If
they follow through,” Leera muttered. “Anyway, we’ve got a few hours before we have to meet them in the Supper Hall.”

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Augum said, striding to the desk and fetching a scrap of parchment. “I’m supposed to send Caireen a note. She’s joining the Resistance and I want to give her one of the rings. We’re going to need all the help we can get tomorrow.”

“Good idea.” Bridget withdrew a ring from the box, tossing it to him.

He caught it, dipped a quill into an ink bottle, and wrote a quick note, saying:
Put this on, it will come in handy. —A.
He sprinkled some drying sand on the parchment and gently blew on the ink.

Bridget bit her lip. “Do you not think it’s a bit risky just … slipping that under her door?”

“She’s expecting a note and told me no one enters her room. She’ll be back from the healers soon anyway.” He placed the Exot ring into the parchment, folded it up, and stuck it in a pocket.

“I suppose.” Bridget nodded at the pine box. “We need to hide that until tomorrow.”

The trio glanced about the room, but there were precious few options.

Bridget winced. “I hate it, but under the bed?”

“Doesn’t look like we have much of a choice,” Leera replied.

Bridget placed her hands over the pine box. “Concutio del alarmo,” then she carefully hid it under her bed. “Hopefully no one sees it here.” She stood up, dusting her hands. “Right, hoods up, let’s go.”

They made their way to room 1478, which was a long ways down the curving corridor. Augum knocked but, as expected, received no reply. He pulled the folded note from his pocket and slipped it deep under the door.

Leera stuck her hands in the pockets of her necrophyte robe. “Now what?”

Bridget expelled a long breath. “Now we train. It’s important Augum is as prepared as possible for tomorrow’s duel.”

“What about the exit plan?”

“We’ll come up with a detailed one tonight after supper.”

They strolled to the portal room. Bridget placed her palm on an oval etching, but then paused. “Hmm.”

“What is it?” Augum asked.

“It just occurred to me that we have access to the entire library now.”

Leera shrugged. “Yeah, so?”

“So, what if we found the room that held all the arcane scrolls? The Legion has forbidden them, right? There must be a giant stash somewhere.”

“What do we need a scroll for—” Leera paused. “Ooooh. Group Teleport. We can use one to escape after the tournament!”

“
Exactly
.”

“There
is
a scroll room,” Leera said. “I’ve been in it. Well, sort of.”

“What do you mean you’ve—” but it was Bridget’s turn to pause. “The Restricted Room.”

Leera nodded. “It won’t be easy. There’s guards and stuff. Though, if all three of us got in, we might get by them.”

Bridget rooted around in her pouch but stopped as an attendant strode by, giving them a curious look before stepping through a portal. Bridget resumed searching her pouch. “Nine gargoyle coins left. That means we’ll need another six to get all three of us in there.”

Leera smirked. “Whoa, Bridget Burns is wrong about something for once.” Augum could tell she enjoyed using Bridget’s full name for a change.

Bridget’s head swung faster than a scythe. “What do you mean I’m wrong? I’m not wrong—”

“Oh, really?” Leera’s sharply arched brows rose smugly as she crossed her arms. “You forgot I
already
got into the room, which means I have access and we only need
one
more coin. I’ll accept your apology now, thank you very much.”

Bridget’s cheeks flushed. “You’re right. I apologize.”

“Apology accepted.”

Augum summoned a portal. “A single coin shouldn’t be hard to get. Let’s go train.”

Discovered

After paying the toll, the trio found a secluded spot in the jungle behind a hill, then spent two grueling hours preparing Augum for his fight with Robin. The girls eventually exhausted themselves by mostly attacking him with the First Offensive, which he repeatedly defended against with his Shield spell. He was getting better at angling his weight forward with the shield, preventing himself from getting thrown back.

They strategized on Robin’s most likely attacks, almost all necromancy-related; how he might cheat, especially with his aunt being one of the judges; and how it was important for Augum to keep his hood up at all times.

“Augum!” a boy suddenly shouted in a squeaky voice. Augum reflexively turned, immediately realizing the mistake—
he had answered to his real name!
For a moment, he just gaped at a small necrophyte boy with a pimpled face and short black hair, standing on the hill behind them. It was the boy from the Supper Hall, the one who had asked him if he was a Bridget or Leera fan.

“I knew it—” the boy said, and ran. The trio immediately bolted after him. Augum, heart punching his chest, stopped on top of the hill and telekinetically yanked at the boy’s foot. The boy tripped, careening into a bush of pink grass. Augum focused and kept pulling, the girls quickly joining in. The boy struggled but was no match against their combined telekinetic pull. He was dragged back along the grass, shouting, “I found them! They’re here—mlrph!” Bridget clamped her hand over the boy’s mouth. He was tiny enough she had no problem handling him.

Leera waved at a necrophyte who had taken notice. “Just our friend playing hide and seek!”

They half-dragged, half-walked the boy back out of sight.

“Great, now what do we do?” Leera said, panting. “He’s going to blab as soon as we let him go.”

Bridget held the boy firm. “We’re not going to hurt you, promise. I’m going to remove my hand now. Please, don’t yell out. We just want to talk to you, all right?” She slowly withdrew her hand from the boy’s mouth.

His pimpled face was pale, eyes darting about. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re on an important quest,” Augum replied. “How did you know it was me?”

“You told me you were from Blackhaven, but then I heard the arena announcer say you were from Everscale. Then I was in the Hall of the Ancients and I overheard a fat attendant saying to her guards that she swore you three were the fugitives—”

“Watts,” Leera muttered. “Figures.”

“Then I watched you and checked a Tiberran poster, which had a better drawing of you all, and you were near identical. I’m going to tell on you as soon as I—” but Bridget clamped a hand over his mouth again.

Leera sighed. “What a mess. What do we do with him?”

“Hold on.” Augum raised a hand, concentrating. “Flustrato.”

The boy’s eyes instantly crossed. He moaned, then whined, “But Ma, I don’t
want
to do my homework right now …”

“We have to get him to Secretary Klines’ office,” Bridget said as the boy rambled on. “She’ll know what to do with him.”

“What if we take him to our room?” Leera asked. “Have Malaika and Charissa watch over him, then let him go tomorrow?”

“Too risky,” Augum said. “Besides, he might be tiny, but I’d guess he’s also a 1st or 2nd degree necrophyte. He knows arcanery—they don’t. He’d get free in no time.”

“I’ll take him up to Klines’ office,” Bridget said, giving them a serious look. “With my hood
down
. It’ll be less suspicious.”

“On your own?” Augum asked.

“It’ll be safest that way. Let’s all cast Confusion on him at once. If it wears off too soon, I’ll cast it on him again. If anyone asks what’s going on with him, I’ll just tell them he got in over his head in the Training Room.”

“No, it’s too dangerous—” Leera said, and the trio argued the point, until the boy mumbled, “Augum Stone … Hood …”

“He’s coming out of it, we’ve got to do this quickly,” Bridget said.

“Fine, but I still don’t like the plan,” Leera said.

The trio lined up before the drooling boy and stretched out their hands, chorusing, “Flustrato.” The boy dropped like a sack of spuds.

“Is … is he sleeping?” Leera said.

Bridget ran her fingers through her hair in exasperation. “Looks like the combined effects were too strong for him.”

“Jonathan—!” called a girl’s voice nearby. “Jonathan, where are you?”

“It’s that girl that was with him back in the Supper Hall,” Augum whispered, grabbing the boy’s feet. “Quick, help me carry him into the bushes before she sees us.”

They grabbed the boy and hurriedly carried him to a thick bush underneath a tall palm tree, just as the girl appeared over the hill.

“This is a disaster,” Leera whispered, craning her neck. “A complete disaster.”

Augum watched the sienna-haired girl grimace and turn around, complaining loudly how he was standing her up again for supper, before disappearing back over the hill.

“Maybe Senior Arcaneologist Ning will have a spell that will erase his memory or something,” Augum said.

Bridget grabbed his arm. “That’s it—the obstacle field!”

“What about it?”

“Remember when we first got here and the attendant warned us about the
memory wiper
obstacle? All we have to do is set it to a high-enough degree that erases a couple days of memory, that’s all.”

Leera snorted. “Oh, nothing could possibly go wrong there.”

“Look, I agree with you about how risky it is trying to drag him to Klines’ office. This is the better option.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for it, I just think … wow, Bridge, that’s kind of cold.”

“Would you rather have Mrs. Stone back or be in an iron room with a questioner?”

“I see your point. Besides, you’re right, it’s only a couple days of lost memory.”

“Hear ye, hear ye!” called out an arcanely amplified voice from afar. “The eighth evening bell tolls!”

“Great, we were supposed to be in the supper hall by now to meet Miss Jealous and Miss Annoying,” Leera muttered.

“We’re going to have to skip supper altogether,” Augum said.

Leera made a face at him as if
his
brain had been wiped.

“He’s right,” Bridget said. “We have to skip supper. We have to do this as close to closing as possible, that way almost all the necrophytes will be gone.”

Leera sighed but nodded. Then she grimaced. “No, forget that. We’ve almost got a full hour. I’m going to the Supper Hall, talk to Dim and Dimmer, then bring us back some food.”

“All right, but maybe I should go instead,” Bridget said.

Leera gave Augum a quirky smile, which Bridget caught.

“Never mind,” Bridget quickly said. “You go, otherwise you two will just make eyes at each other the entire time and the boy will run free.”

“Pfft,” Leera said. “All right, I’ll meet you two back here in a bit. Oh, and—” She thrust out her palm at Bridget and wiggled her fingers. “Gimme, gimme.”

Bridget withdrew fifteen coppers and handed them over.

“We’re not that bad, are we?” Augum said, watching her go.

“I was just teasing.” Bridget shrugged. “But still …”

“I do miss spending time with her.”