Chương 14: Chapter Fourteen

"Thanks, Benna," I said, stirring my drink with the cooling stick she had given me the day we had arrived. She glanced at it, shaking her head.

"I really like it here." Evan and Mom were out getting the wagon ready with the rest of our group. They left me in the common room with Benna so that I stayed out of sight. I wasn't sure what they were thinking. There were three elves sitting in the tree-filled common area. At least one of them was glancing at me often enough to make me uncomfortable. She smiled at that.

"Thanks, kiddo. I'm glad you enjoyed it." I took a drink, closing my eyes in bliss as the sweet citrus drink flowed into my mouth.

"Are you going to be leaving too? Because of the troubles that are starting because of me?" I tried to keep the frown out of my voice as I asked. Benna's chuckle caught me by surprise.

"Don't worry about me. My Inn's roots are spread under the entire city. They won't get rid of me by making a fuss. At least, not without losing the city in turn." She winked at me as she put a full mug on the counter. A moment later someone came by to take it, leaving a couple of coins in its place. I nodded, glad that all the things that Mom and Evan had been trying to keep from me weren't going to cause Benna many problems. I drank my juice slowly as Benna went about her business behind the counter.

Neera, Fennor, and Leon arrived and surrounded me before I could finish it.

"Everything paid up, Benna?" Neera asked, putting her hand on my shoulder and nodding towards my juice. I quickly downed the last of it, putting the cooling stick in my pocket after wiping it off with a handkerchief Mom had given me earlier.

"All of your accounts are paid in full. It's always a pleasure serving the Toordor. You're all always prompt on paying your tabs. Are you going to be okay?" Benna asked.

"Yea, we'll be fine. A few of the Order will be joining us for the run. They needed the work apparently." Leon let out a long-suffering sigh.

"I would rather sweat to keep the peace than bleed during a war. I've done far too much of the latter in my life."

"Besides, I have to figure out what family our princess here is the heir of." Neera and Leon both groaned.

"It could happen." He shrugged unapologetically, as I stared at him with wide eyes.

"For the tenth time. She's my niece. I know she isn't the heir of a lost kingdom, or the last member of a fallen house. She's Lyra. End of mystery."

"Oh, nonono! The mystery has just started," he pronounced, wagging his finger.

"You might not want to tell me, but I will figure it out." Blood rushed to my face, and I could only flap my mouth without making a sound at Fennor's behavior. I even caught two of the elves leaning forward at his proclamations, trying to catch every word. And now, the elves thought I was a princess. If they approached me for trade, I would send them to the nearest Pampaw tree. Nodding to myself in my head, I hopped off the stool I had been sitting on.

"Shall we go?"

"All right, Lyra. Straight to the wagon and in. No detours," Neera said, guiding me with her hand. A brief round of goodbyes followed as the four of us made our way out of the Inn, stepping around several trees and a stream to do so. I stepped outside, thinking I would get another glimpse of the city street, but my view was blocked by the Toordor wagons. The caravan had gained five horses, it seemed. All of them were almost as large as the huge horses pulling the wagons.

But where those horses were burly, these horses looked sleek. Their coats, a mix of black, white, and brown, were almost glowing over rippling muscles. And the riders on their backs. They all wore the same rough uniform that Leon and Fennor did, with alterations to facilitate their different roles. And the weapons. Large. Gleaming. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. And very, very visible.

I came to a stop, swallowing as my throat went suddenly dry. But Neera wasn't having any of it. Her hands dropped, and she picked me up under the arms, handing me off to Evan, who, with a "Hup!", put me on the wagon.

"Get inside, Lyra. Boyan and your Mom are waiting for you," he said, climbing into the driver box and picking up the reins. I caught Leon and Fennor climbing onto two horses as I disappeared into the wagon. Mom was sitting on a crate, with Boyan in her lap. I found my own spot as she glanced my way.

"We'll wait until we get out of the city before we try teaching you how to externalize your mana. For now, let's practice Mana Control." I groaned. It took an hour to get to the gate, where we were met with another queue. I didn't know what they were checking, but it seemed to be a longer wait than when we arrived. I was guessing it was due to all the excitement that had been happening. Hopefully, there wouldn't be a problem. Mom cleared her throat.

But I was distracted and couldn't get back into working on my currents. Eventually I gave up and simply opened my eyes. I had gotten the skill up to level five before lunch yesterday, but it had become stubborn after that. I held my hand out to Boyan, who grabbed my fingers as I wiggled them, causing him to giggle. Mom only sighed.

"I guess there's no helping it. We're almost out of the city. We can wait a bit then I'll talk to you about how to express your mana." I nodded.

"What level is your Control?"

"Five. I reached level five yesterday before lunch. It hasn't moved since then," I admitted a little hesitantly. It should have been higher. Maybe it would jump up when I got my currents in place. Mom was shaking her head.

"It's amazing that it's so high." Excuse me? My thoughts came to a halt.

"You've only been practicing Control for a few days, less than a week! I wouldn't expect you to reach level five for several months. And that's a demon's reckoning, mind you." She smiled at me and her face warped into an emotion I was having problems deciphering. Pride. Why? The wagon moved forward a bit before coming to another stop. I got up and peeked out the window. Mom moved to block me until she saw I was only looking while keeping myself behind the tarp, closing it. There were five elves.

Two of them were in the uniforms I remembered when entering the city. The other three were in robes. I caught the gold glint of a diving falcon before turning back into the wagon and sitting down.

"Hold up!" someone stated loud enough to be heard over the bustle of the gate.

"We need to inspect your cargo." Mom's posture became tense. I chewed on my lip. Should I just get off?

"I've never heard about an inspection leaving the city before. No new laws have passed in the time that I've been here," Evan responded. Something in his voice relaxed me. He was putting himself between me and them. He had done that a lot now that I thought about it. He had never cast a spell, or drawn a weapon… but he had been fighting for me. Was fighting for me.

"There isn't one…" Another voice cut over the first.

"We're after someone. A risk to the city. And we believe she's in your wagon."

"Definitely. The mana is flowing straight towards it."

"And what does House La'Tithe know about risk? You can't even stop your own house from blowing itself up," Neera's voice piped up angrily. I could hear Evan sigh from here, and I almost giggled. Mom looked at me reproachingly.

"We understand the dangers of magic better than most," a voice scoffed.

"An object of instability is in your wagon. It will be made safe. You will hand it over to us."

"My daughter is not an object." Evan's voice was dark, and I smiled.

"We are not beholden to La'Tithe. If you try touching one of our kids…" Neera's voice was cut off by Leon.

"What is the meaning of this? Get out of the way," Leon commanded.

"As soon as they…"

"They don't have to do anything," Leon stated coldly.

"They've already broken the Toordor seal of the Telimet Accords, yet have upheld them while they were here. If you're stupid enough to blatantly break the Accords by trying to kidnap the daughter of the leaders of the Toordor clan, the war will rekindle before midday."

"Acquiring a mana-destabilizing object to render it safe is not a violation of the Accords!" one of the voices almost yelled back.

"Kidnapping our children for your stupidity under any guise is exactly what your species agreed to in the Accords." Evan's voice was calm, quiet, and utterly dark.

"You're too similar to humans. Illiterates with a short memory. I suggest you go and open a history book instead of blocking our path. Because if you insist on proving to us that elves are liars, and that their agreements on the Accords are meaningless and force us, who would prefer peace, to pick up our weapons again…" His voice lost its darkness as he continued.

"You won't be talking about Mithinis anymore." Mom looked happy, and even kicked her feet against the crate she was sitting on. I lost track of the argument outside, but the tension was still climbing, even as Mom hummed and put a shield around herself, Boyan, and me. It didn't take much longer; I thought Neera said something, and I felt the pull of mana. First from three people in front of us a bit, then from people all around us. The sound of steel leaving its sheath was so loud that even I couldn't miss it.

A couple of screams quickly drowned out everything but the running feet as people vacated the area and everyone paused, waiting. For the people to get clear? I didn't know.

"Your Dad doesn't have a lot of Spell Power. He never saw the point of it. But he practices… a rather unique branch of magic." Her smile was… not right.

"He never needed much." I could only tilt my head and look towards the front of the wagon, where I could imagine Evan sitting as he let out a slow rolling sound. A mix of exasperation, annoyance, and something deeper that I couldn't identify.

"They really forgot who we are," Mom said, her feet coming to a stop. Then I felt it. A pull on mana so brief I almost missed it. Then my gut clenched for a moment. All the people who had their mana ready disappeared from my senses. Along with a chunk of my mana.

"He uses Null magic. And was known as the Null King during the war while he led us," Mom said.

"They won't be able to touch their mana for the next hour." My eyes widened. Could he stop people from using mana?

"You're officially worth less than a single drop of my horse's blood. Get out of the way," Evan said, and the wagon started moving forward. My Dad was awesome!