Iduna (7 page)

Ten grueling days after leaving the camp, Iduna rode the stolen horse to the school's large stable. She passed the reins to the girl there. “Treat him well. He's done his duty plus some.”

She was covered in mud from the road and hadn’t changed clothes since her dunk in the stream, but she wouldn’t wait to change. Her mind kept racing with the ramifications of Vilir’s dark power and what the Lawanians could do to stop it. She needed to talk to Sensei Angko immediately. As she strode quickly through the halls, the Institute looked a little different to her now, a little cold in spite of the spring sunshine.

She went straight to Sensei Angko's office. His steward noticed her state and encouraged her to come another time.

“He'll want to meet with me now,” she said.

He acquiesced with a bow. Iduna walked by him and knocked softly on Sensei Angko's door.

“Come in,” Angko called.

She entered his office which only looked larger due to its emptiness and simplicity. Angko sat between two desks; one desk faced the large window, and the other faced the door. Angko turned from the one pointed toward the window and swiveled to face Iduna. He leaned back and steepled his fingers, tapping his chin with them.

“So you decided to return.” Regarding Iduna with a humorous gaze, he peered over his half-moon spectacles at her. “And you brought dirt.”

“You'll find I brought more than that,” Iduna said.

“Excellent. What did you bring?” Angko asked.

“I've been living with the Ull in their grand camp in the valleys of Gaelen,” she said.

“Indeed.” His single word and lack of reaction told her that he hadn't forgotten that she'd heard the council decide not to make contact with the Ull for fear that doing so would draw attention to and endanger their land. Angko hadn't espoused the opinion, but it had been the majority decision.

She continued. “I know the council didn't want to get involved, but the situation is as we had suspected, very dire. The Ull have defeated Gaelen, destroying their kingdom. King Gaelen is dead.”

“We know this.”

“The Ull are now led by Vilir who is determined to control the entire continent. Though he is Ull, Vilir is using some dark magic that I have never seen before. He is being advised by someone named Senbo, who isn’t Ull and is focused on defeating the houses of magic in Lawan especially. They also seem to have some kind of plague running through the ranks of their young fighters. It seems connected to the dark magic Vilir is using.”

Angko listened to her statements and looked away when she finished. “You're very excited,” Angko said.

“Yes, I'm sorry.” She ran through her calming sequence and felt an unsettling awareness of the hollowness within her. She closed her eyes briefly and exhaled through her nose with an echoing sigh. Opening her eyes, she quickly focused on Angko. “The situation is not good, and I don't know how we can overcome his magic.”

“What did he do while working the magic?”

“He hummed and then he sang.”

“You mentioned that it was 'dark magic.' What makes you say this?” Angko asked.

“It put some kind of spell on me, made me feel angry and discontent. A fall in cold water shook me from the spell. This happened when I was outside the camp. When I tried to get near the camp, I failed.”

“Why?”

“I don't know. I tried to walk back to the camp, but I physically couldn't, even though I could see no wall or physical obstacle. It made me wretch.”

“Indeed.”

She was used to Sensei Angko being quiet, but she had expected more of a response than this.

Now he was tapping his fingers, his open palm hovering over his desk, one finger tapping at a time in sequence; baby finger, ring finger, middle, pointer, thumb, thumb, pointer, middle, ring, baby, baby, ring …

It was going to drive her mad. She shook herself. The Ull matter was urgent, but getting riled up wouldn't help.

“Do you have any physical evidence?” Angko asked.

“No, but I am a witness.”

“That is unfortunate. In this world what has mass has weight,” he reminded her. She didn’t know what physical evidence she could have brought. There were no letters or maps with an
X
marking where they would invade next.

“Nonetheless we'll call together the council tomorrow,” Angko replied at last.

“But, Sensei Angko surely you’ll want to meet immediately,” Iduna said.

Angko put up a single flat palm. “You know our ways. You should go to the meditation hall for the remainder of the day and practice silence. I'll call on you tomorrow.”

Her stomach knotted with frustration. She bowed and left the room. She was tempted to speak with Tinh but thought of her accumulated acts of defiance and decided she should go meditate as requested.

It almost killed her.

She went to the meditation hall and found a spot among the rows of practitioners. As she sat on her heels, she sought calm. Honestly she did. But every time her long, studied exhale ended, she would think of Freya and Unger, and all the warm, loving Ull rotting from within. Would it be permanent for them? She didn’t tell Freya about Senbo being connected to the deaths of the young fighters. Why was he killing them and passing it off as a sickness? Freya had said that Edda had acted differently before she died. What was going on?

A small gong rang, and they all started chanting. Her lips moved automatically, but her mind replayed Vilir stepping up on the stump to sing his song again and again while the echoes seemed to reverberate in her hollow chest.

Three mornings later, after two days full of meditative walks, meditative meals, meditative cleaning—name it, and she'd meditated while doing it—Sensei Angko appeared in the dining room while Iduna was clearing away plates, meditatively.

“Iduna, it is time for us to discuss your actions.”

Vastly relieved, Iduna followed him to the courtyard, still wearing an apron. Finally they would discuss how they would tell the council and craft a plan of action. Perhaps they could evacuate the city until they found a way to overcome Vilir's magic.

“The council met and considered your words,” Angko said.

“Sensei Angko, I thought I would be there.” She tried not to show her shock.

“There's no need for that.” Angko looked particularly serene. They walked counterclockwise around the courtyard.

“What did they say?” she asked.

Angko sighed as if giving up trying to get a cat to fetch. “They were glad you were back and no longer intruding on the Ull. The council requested a change in duties for you since you showed poor judgment. You are to work in the kitchens full time for a few months.”

Her eyes went wide, then narrowed.

“Why don't they believe me?”

“Iduna, though you are mature and no one questions your mastery of books, you lack experience. You could have been inebriated. We know the Ull drink a hard liquor, and you have no tolerance since we don't drink spirits here.” Angko continued. “We wouldn't want inebriated acolytes causing fires or floods, would we?”

“No, no, of course. But I wasn't drunk. I know what I saw.”

“The council has decided. Welcome back. My suggestion is to embrace your new duties. Nothing is permanent.” He was facing her and reached out his hands to hold hers between his. They felt warm and reassuring. “Peace be with you,” he said, and, with a last squeeze of her hands, he let them go and left quietly.

“And also with you,” she whispered after his retreating figure, trying to figure out what had just happened.

In her clasped hands was a necklace she’d never seen before.

Freya galloped through the shady woods of Gaelen. They'd given her a horse, a map, and a dagger. It was one of Senbo's own blades. His hate of Lawanians must be enormous if he wanted his own blade to kill Iduna, if it came to that.

Her mind felt numb, and she couldn’t seem to think straight. They had Unger. She couldn’t lose him. She didn’t want to hurt Iduna. Why had Iduna left?

When Freya finally arrived at the gates of Cha, she copied what the others did. She handed her horse over to the city stable. Walking into the city, she immediately felt conspicuous among the quiet dark-haired people. She rubbed her throat and wished Unger were here with her. These people moved through the squares of the city as if they were walking in a monastery, heads bowed and arms tucked in the sleeves of their robes.

Freya felt a sharp jab of hate for them.

Their peaceful demeanor struck her as pretentious and annoying. The buildings were beautiful but in a stark, hard way. It was a city of overwhelming simplicity. It struck her as cold, despite the warmer latitude.

She felt some relief seeing a shop with some local clothes in the window. She walked inside, but it appeared empty. She cleared her throat. Nothing. Walking around she saw a woman sitting on a cushion with her eyes closed. What kind of place was this? In frustration, she grabbed a tunic, robe, and soft sandals and went to a corner to change. She watched the meditating woman while she pulled off her leather pants and fur boots. Part of her wanted the woman to protest, to act normal. Tying the sandals and settling the robe over her shoulders, she emerged to see the woman still sitting. The woman hadn’t moved even once. Ridiculous. She left as a bell chimed. “Can I help you?” a woman’s soft voice called after her.

Garbed like them and with a scarf covering her hair, Freya moved around the enormous city freely. Thinking of Iduna's talents with cooking, she concentrated on the food market.

She felt powerless. All she could do was hope to see Iduna. It was pathetic.

On the fifth day, she saw a youthful blonde woman weaving through the orderly group in the market. Freya followed her, growing more certain that it was Iduna though she looked very different here — her hair was smooth, practically glowing with cleanliness. Freya felt a stab of bitterness at Iduna's betrayal and lies. Seeing Iduna in this different world made Freya feel a distance grow between the person she had had an affection for and the woman who Iduna must truly be to inhabit such a cold world.

The Lawanians walked through the city, over smooth cobblestones, and Freya wondered where this woman lived. She hoped she would be able to get Iduna alone, knock her out, and find a way to cart her out the gates.

The young woman turned a corner. Freya hung back and peered around the building's hard edge. She watched the woman enter a small door. Now she knew where to find Iduna. As Freya considered what her next moves would be, her gaze expanded to include a broader picture of her surroundings. She slumped against the wall as she took in the grand edifice. This building was the largest within the capital. She was already leery of entering such buildings; their hard flat exteriors were intimidating. She was barely managing to blend in outside with people milling about. What hope would she have inside one of these stark monoliths? The building was enormous. She railed silently at Iduna for putting her through this.

She would have to wait for Iduna to come outside again.

Iduna spent the next week dashing from the kitchens to the library in the brief windows of time between meal preparations and cleaning up after meals. The books soothed her, but more important she had hoped to find an answer. There should be a book to explain what Vilir was doing, or, at the very least, she might read something to prompt a useful thought. The necklace sat in her pocket, mocking her attempts to unravel its mysteries.

Sensei Angko had passed it to her as he had held her hands in his. If anyone had been watching, they would never know what had passed between them. It was made of a material she hadn’t encountered before. She’d experimented with it in the privacy of her room, trying to pull at the elements to understand where it came from and what it meant. Whatever she tried, the necklace just sat there. It had a silvery glint, and the pendant was an elaborate weave of web-thin strands of fine metal. She couldn’t make out any image, pattern, or message in the design. It must have meaning, but she couldn’t figure it out. Why had Sensei given it to her? What should she do?

She chopped carrots for the afternoon curry while considering options.

“What did those carrots do to you?” Tinh asked, startling her and drawing her out of her head. He grabbed a piece of carrot and popped it in his mouth. “That is some vicious slicing and dicing.”

“The carrots did nothing. I'm puzzled at the actions of the council.”

“What did they do now?” Tinh asked.

“It's what they're not doing. They don't believe me and are ignoring my news that the Ull are going to attack us.”

“Well, congratulations, you were right. I come with news. I'm being sent to serve as second commander in an Elementalist attack on the invading horde. I'll be leading the third squad out of four. We will take care of them. You don't need to worry or slaughter carrots anymore,” he jested.

“They're invading? How far away are they? How are you going to overcome their unknown magic?” Her questions came rapidly as she processed the news.

“No congratulations?”

“Of course, of course. I know you were hoping to lead a squad someday, and you will be a great leader.” She hesitated. “But, Tinh, do you know what you're up against?”

“A marauding primitive horde? Yes, I've heard the same tales you did growing up—well, perhaps fewer since my parents weren't Ull—but I know about their great size and skill with axes. It does sound like a lot of them, but we'll have four squads. That's forty of our best Elementalists. Their axes will be no good against the avalanche, wave, or fireball we will send at them.”

“You don't get it. Didn't they tell you? The Ull are using a dark magic.”

Tinh pushed back from the table of carrots. “Don't be silly, Iduna. What happened to you? The Ull don't use magic. You know their culture idolizes self-sufficiency, and, to them, using magic is cheating. Why would you say such a thing?”

“It's true, Tinh. The Ull are using magic. Their leader, Vilir, made people feel things, and he seemed stronger because of it. When I was at their camp, I saw it happen.” She couldn’t bring herself to tell him it had happened to her. She’d already lost enough respect here.

“Oh, Iduna, for all your book knowledge, you don't know much, do you? If only you had not spent so much time with books, maybe you would know more of the world and not mistake some hangover with dark magic.”

There it was. The prejudice the Elementalists had toward Spellcrafters showing up in someone she thought of as a friend. She must have bruised his pride. She must get him to understand.

“Tinh, please, you must believe me. You don't know what you're up against. I’m worried about you.”

He was standing up straighter than a sun dial now, and he looked down his nose at her. “Iduna, I wasn't going to say anything, but you need to know the full cost of what you did. It was you who brought the Ull here with your snooping. The council told you that they decided not to risk it, but of course you went. I am an elite Elementalist. Elementalists have been defenders of Lawan for centuries. We have saved Lawan countless times. We will do so again.” With that, he turned curtly and left the room.

She was beyond words. Her worst fear was coming true. The Ull were invading Lawan. Would she end up fighting Freya and Unger in the street? How had Vilir's magic evolved? The Ull were probably mad with temper and despair by now. And her oldest friend blamed her.

The sense of loss grew in her — she felt that same spot created by Vilir's song throb with emptiness. She put her hand to her chest and braced herself against the table. She closed her eyes and felt hot tears pour down her cheeks through her tightly clenched eyelids. She couldn't succumb. Yet the tears just kept flowing. She needed to find some answers. Shaking her head, she stared up at the ceiling and gasped for air, drawing gulp after gulp of the warm, humid kitchen air into her lungs.

She sensed a presence. Surat stood in the doorway, for who-knew-how-long, with the first look of sympathy she’d seen the cook give in all the years the two had known each other.

“You heard that,” Iduna said, as more an observation than question.

“I'm not deaf,” Surat replied.

“Of course not.” Iduna braced herself. The wounds Tinh had left were raw, and she didn't want to be hurt by another so soon. “The Ull are coming, and we won't be able to stop them.”

“Well, child, then you had better get on it.”

“I've been racking my brain, and I don't know what kind of magic Vilir is using or how to combat it.”

“You have always been good at finding things.” Surat wandered into the room, making her way around the large table that served as a cutting board. She picked up one of the slices of chopped carrot and tossed it in her mouth. “You mentioned that he was manipulating emotions?”

“He sang, and it seemed to call out bitterness and sorrow in everyone, even creating some where there had been none.”

“There's enough sorrow in this world without creating more. Though if you’re trying to say you didn’t have sorrow before this, I’d take another look. If you want to learn about mastering emotion, and not the suppression of feelings taught here, then you'd better go see the people on the island of Okeenos. Rumor has it that they use emotion to trick the sea. I've heard some crazy tales, but, if you don't find any answers soon in those books of yours, then go.” She tilted her chin down and looked hard at Iduna.

“But you may need me here. They’re coming,” Iduna said.

“Go find the answer. That’s your talent. Don’t waste it.” Surat picked up another thick slice of carrot. “You’re talent definitely isn’t in the kitchen.”

Iduna smiled briefly. If the Ull had thought Iduna’s cooking was good, they would faint after eating Surat’s.

“Get out of here, and find the answer.” With that, Surat wiped her hands on her apron and left the chopping room to go check on the stoves.

Iduna raced to the library. A part of her felt like a child again with Surat sending her to root out ginger or turmeric, and now, like then, Iduna felt bolstered by the confidence Surat had in her ability to do what was needed.

She’d never heard of Okeenos. It took some digging, but, in an old atlas buried in the back of the stacks, she found it. Okeenos was a small island chain off the coast of Lawan. She needed to know more. If she left Cha now, then she wouldn't be able to help fight off the Ull if they got to the city. She would be abandoning more people she cared about. She felt like a coward for leaving, but, if she stayed to fight, then she would certainly fail. Iduna remembered the darkness, how hard she'd tried to just walk back to the camp and yet had failed.

Running to her quarters, she stuffed her bags and then headed to the stables.