Magistaire Chronicles: Shadows of the Past

Chapter 23

Zanius burst with laughter as Elies, with Hazelmere, explained everything from who they were to how they got there. He then shook his head.

"You naive souls, you," Zanius chided. "Streams won't lead you anywhere, not where you want to go, at least. You'd have reached the Darkwell if you'd kept on, where its lord would've then had you maimed, tortured, and eaten alive. In that order."

"You pulling my leg?" Elies asked, his mouth full of freshly charred fish. "We've been going the wrong way?"

Zanius raised his skewer to his nose before tossing it into the air, his Unicorn swallowing it whole. "Umbris is a dead land, my friend," he said. "Any rivers that lead there are dried up with its kings."

"Bollocks!" Elies spat. "So it's bloody ruins, after all!"

Zanius shrugged. "Don't know what you expected. That's why I think you're stupid for wanting to go there, but you wouldn't be the first. Swarms of adventurers go there attempting to pillage its wealth."

Elies stared expectantly. "But?"

"I assume they die," Hazelmere chimed in. She munched the last of her fish, bones and all, and tossed the stick in the fire. "But we don't have a say like they do. We have to go."

"All you have to do is be a pretty face and die, though I guess if you go, you'll likely die anyway." Zanius turned to Rune and set his hand on the familiar's snout. "What do you think? Should we show 'em the way?"

The Unicorn whinnied.

Zanius nodded and met Elies' eyes again. "He's spoken. Rest first before we go."

Elies and Hazelmere looked at one another. "You're tagging along? Just like that?"

"A common drifter like myself has nothing better to do," Zanius said, shutting his eyes. "But, rest like I said or don't. I really don't give a damn."

Per his own suggestion, Elies traded hours of sleep with Hazelmere, keeping an eye on Zanius while his friend shut her eyes. She did the same when she came to relieve him, and so on and so on. They swapped shifts throughout the night until the sun finally seeped through the trees overhead.

Elies yawned and rubbed his burning eyes, a ping of jealousy coursing through him at the sight of Hazelmere fast asleep. She curled beside him, arms wrapped around her legs, and her ears drooped. How's she even cuter when asleep? He thought.

Zanius yawned next, causing Elies to dart his eyes at him. "I was awake, by the way," he said.

Elies' stomach sank. "You were, were you?" His face grew hot. "How much did you see?"

"Oh, just all of it." Zanius stretched his arms and legs before shaking Rune awake, the Unicorn blowing pink smoke rings from his nostrils as he slept. "Look, I don't mind if she checks me out, but for you, the feeling's not mutual."

Elies clenched his jaw. "Neither one of us was—

Now, it was Hazelmere's turn to yawn. She swept her hair from her face and smacked her lips. "Sunlight, already?"

Zanius sniffed and tugged Rune by the reins. "On your feet, Aurora," he said to her. "Day's arisen."

The former stranger twirled two clear orbs in his fingers, flicking one into the fire. The flames glowed white before shrinking away, leaving the orb in its place. It glowed orange and leaked with smoke until Zanius tucked it back into his robe. He then flicked the second orb off of Rune's horn, the Unicorn turning into his ribbons of light.

Elies blinked. "What in the Inferno?" He said under his breath. "I take it you saw that, too?"

Hazelmere leaned in closer to him. "He's a wizard, but I'm not sure what kind."