Chương 50: Observation

Air is the one element I can practice manipulating all day, every day, regardless of what else I'm doing. The fact that even restricting airflow to myself helps me build up resilience to the use of my power is mind-blowing. I'm getting there, strength-wise, but at the same time I can go so much farther. Stretching out my awareness in front of me as I go, it's easier to scan those people who send up a flag of behavior or even composition. Sometimes there's even an aura that merits attention.

Surely, if I can sense these things about people, someone who has been masquerading as one of our colleagues would be able to do more. You'd think observing other assassins would be difficult. But it's not as bad as you'd think. Considering how vigilant we have to be when we leave our home on assignment, we're woefully lax about our own personal boundaries when we're in our home. Which leads me to wonder if anyone has lives outside of the Enclave. A question for later perhaps.

Not everyone is easy to read, but most of us are. I always forget how many people actually fill this space. From Novices and Apprentices, up through the higher rankings, and right down to those who're relegated to take care of the keep itself. I've barely given the dining hall a run down with my skills before Larshell appears at my side. Her straight dark hair—obscured underneath her hood as usual—and bright blue eyes make her seem like she's otherworldly.

Always aware of where everything is and what everyone is doing, she's been one of the only people here who sometimes make me feel uneasy. Which is really saying something. But these days, appearing suddenly at my side isn't something that makes me start. She was one of the few who could get in under my radar when I was an Apprentice. Now… I can smell her a mile away. Fine. Maybe that's an exaggeration.

"Aarron has an assignment for you," she says softly. I swear her lips don't even move. I nod. Unsure just how urgent this is and irritated at being interrupted.

"He'd like to see you now," she says this a little louder, like maybe I didn't hear the first time.

"I heard you," I say, unperturbed. For some reason I can feel a small seed of rebellion sprouting inside me. While I've always done as Aarron instructed, right now I'm finding myself adverse to that. I want to push him and see what he'll do. See if he'll slip up. See if my growing suspicions are correct. I'd also like to see if I can make Larshell lose her temper. But maybe that's petty.

"Then you'd best be running along, Journeyman." She places a subtle emphasis on that last word.

"I'll get to it when I'm finished in here. Leaving a job half done is sloppy work." My tone is neutral, but it wouldn't take a lot to read into it. And I'm pretty sure Larshell does. Seething is probably the right word for her breathing right now. The things you learn when you can manipulate air. However, since the dining hall is a bust, I decide not to anger one of the Adepts too much and head to Aarron's office.

Feeling ahead for any untoward occurrences, I notice that his door is open and he's talking to Mithris. The latter seems to be everywhere I turn up lately. On missions with me. Down in the torture dungeon with Dendrak. Dropping in on meetings that I gatecrash… standing around corners like he has every right to be there. If he wasn't ranked higher than me, and several years older than me, I'd think I was being stalked. Not a good trick to pull when the person you're following knows her way around poisons.

Still, at least my listening-through-stone skill lets me enter the room informed. I need to figure out what to call that… They're not speaking about anything Aarron is trying to keep secret. I wonder if he's just given up on trying to keep me out of conversations or knowledge he's trying to conceal. I'm becoming far too paranoid.

"You wanted to see me," I say as I walk into the room, not bothering to knock. Aarron doesn't bat an eyelid. Again, my hackles are up. He has to have some sort of ability to sense when I'm there. Or to know about others. Stone, earth, rock, air…I have no idea. But it's driving me mad. Taking a deep breath, I stand at attention, waiting. Mithris is actually in a seat for once and his black-as-coal eyes feel like they're simmering from within.

"We need to know exactly what you can do," Aarron says, finally looking up at me. I refrain from gulping with some difficulty. This is going to get dicey. Letting everyone know the extent of my abilities doesn't seem like the wisest decision to me. I have to hold some of that information back to protect myself. It's bad enough that they know I have them at all.

"How do you mean?" I ask, trying to appear innocent, which I should know better than to attempt. Aarron's smile is enough to dissuade me of the notion that I was successful.

"You know very well. What elements do you have under your command? Can you access any aspects of other elements? What about reach-wise? Of the elements you have access to, what are some of the characteristics of each?" What he doesn't say is that he needs a manual to be able to use me as a tool and that I must give it to him. As Prefect. Thing is… I don't trust my Prefect, and as it turns out, most of my Enclave. There are three people I mostly trust in the world these days. Xalin. Lennick, and Lareny.

Oh, and Minx. So four. Mostly trust, anyway. My circle is becoming cumbersome. Lennick won't tell him things I don't want him to know. It should be enough that Aarron is aware now. Which leaves me only a couple of options. It's still taking me too long to think. But instead of blabbering out what I can do, I pretend I've just been activating my power while I thought.

I allow a stone tabletop to emerge from the wall, being careful to keep it strong and maintain the integrity of the stone wall as well by fueling the piece with a gap. Aarron's eyes widen slightly, and Mithris whistles appreciatively. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"You'll never want for space at a party with tricks like that," he quips, and it's all I can do not to burst out laughing. Aarron on the other hand, flashes him a scowl.

"Keep comments to yourself unless they're actually constructive." His gaze focuses on Mithris until the Adept looks away and then he turns his attention back to me.

"And?"

"Rock, stone, earth, dirt…" I say and shrug.

"I can't exactly show you earth here. Just take my word for it. Or, you know, the forest you visited." Aarron blanches slightly. He'd been there, seen the original site of my awakened abilities. Going back there now would be nightmarish. Decomposition will be in full swing.

"Very well. What of the other elements?" Here I have to make a big decision. Do I tell him? Water maybe…water could also explain lack of air or oxygen in a sense. Maybe that way I can legitimately leave myself with a trump card.

"Water," I say, directing the water in the mug on his desk to take a loop around the room before plopping back into the cup. He narrows his eyes.

"That's it?"

"We're inside a mountain, contained in an office without windows. What do you want from me?" He opens his mouth once, closes it, and then tries a second time.

"Are those the elements you have, then?"

"Yep," I say. And it's not a lie either. I do have those two elements; I'm just not letting him know about the third one.

"Hm." He's thinking overtime, but his level of surprise or of being impressed is low. Again, leading me to believe that he's used to magic.

"What's your range like?"

"Range?" I ask.

"Like how far I can reach?"

"Yes."

"If you're asking sensations, then a mile or two radii depending on my energy levels and how subtle a movement I'm looking for. But if you're asking when I use the power…it seems to work best in my immediate area." That's bordering on a lie. It does work best when the action is centered around me. But at the same time, I haven't actually tried it any other way.

"How much can you channel at once? At what point do you come close to death?" The way he looks at me, the way he speaks that question, sends shivers down my spine in a way I hadn't anticipated. Pushing me to take too much on would be a literal death sentence.

"I don't know." And it's true. I know what almost killed me several weeks ago. But I'm used to the power now, so much more powerful than I was. There are all these things I can do, I can reinforce, I can change. I can explode a person. None of that was there before, so it would take something much bigger to drain me enough to kill me. But I don't say that. Because I find that too much information.

"I really don't know. Pulling that much power when I grow exponentially…I might destroy other things before I destroy myself." And I smile to make it seem like it could be a threat if they really want to read into it. Mithris stands and brushes himself off, as if there's suddenly dust everywhere. He inclines his head toward Aarron.

"As much as I might like to stay and witness the banter between you two, I do have more pressing matters to attend to." He doesn't wait for Aarron to retort, and instead walks past me, lowering his gaze as he does so. It's like he's trying to tell me something, yet even my air affinity can't seem to decipher what it is. But it's a warning for me, not toward me. Be wary of Aarron. Nice to know. As if I already wasn't. I don't let that show on my face.

"Anything else?" Aarron watches me, his eyes unreadable right now, and this sort of air about him that I don't want to cross him. Which I believe. Even if he isn't hiding magic, he's still powerful. There's a reason why he's the Nightshade Prefect.

"Be careful who you share your abilities with," he begins, but I cut him off.

"Wait a moment. I was being careful, and you made me reveal my powers to all of my yearmates, and Dendrak as well as Mithris. Not to mention yesterday in this very office, you revealed it to a few people who had no clue what I could do." I take a breath, steadying myself. My oxygen levels are fluctuating, and I can't afford to lose focus right now.

"Anyway. How do you tell me not to share my abilities, when you literally just told everyone about them?" This time he has the good grace to look perturbed.

"I didn't mean to out you like that. This has all been extremely confusing. Close the door, will you?" And that's when I realize Mithris left it open. Why on earth would he have done that, unless he was trying to listen in on whatever it is Aarron is about to tell me, and that he wasn't about to tell Mithris. Which makes it triply interesting to me. I do what he asks and then take a seat when he motions me to.

"Okay. What is it that's got you confused?" Even though I do try my best, I can't refrain from leaking sarcasm into my voice. After all, it's Aarron who already insists we know what we know before we act. And here he is, acting before he knows. Well, well, well… Of course, my pushing his buttons like that goes over about as well as I'd expect. His expression grows thunderous, and I think he's about to slam his fist down on the desk and shout at me when he pauses.

Then he takes a deep breath, closes his eyes—presumably to count to ten—and calms himself. Wow. Wonders will never cease. Just what has got him so twisted today?

"I realize some of my actions may have come across as contrary" is the line he opens with. It's solid enough that I'm willing to listen. Even if the air around me feels suffocating on a new level. All I do is nod and wait for him to continue.

"There are things at work that I've had to keep to myself for decades. Machinations from within and without the Nightshade. Court dalliances." The more he speaks, the older he looks, like in revealing this to me, he is in fact draining life force. Terrifying, really.

"What secrets?" I ask, wanting to give him something, anything that encourages him to continue. After all…this is a side of our Prefect I've never seen before. If only I can figure out just how genuine it is. He eyes me and leans back in his chair to look at the ceiling. Okay, so eye contact is out. That's fishy from someone who could win a staring contest with a statue.

"We lost magic eons ago. Everywhere. All around us. Blood magic took its place, but it's been information handed down through the Prefects of the orders this whole time. We are the ones who've enforced the secret. We are the ones who thought it better to keep the Blood Sect out of sight and out of mind. And it's only now that I've realized quite how wrong we were to do so." Wait. Rewind.

"You're the ones who used Geistersinne to haze everyone's memories?" There's a small part of me boiling in indignation while the other part is simply reeling from the revelation. If he's surprised that I know how it was done, he doesn't show it. Instead, he sighs.

"Yes."

"To prevent people from figuring out just how deeply the blood mages had entrenched themselves in our society? How much of Arralesh they've been taking over?" I shake my head.

"That makes absolutely no sense."

"That's not the reason. We thought that if people didn't know about the Blood Sect and the blood ties that they would forget, and it would be more difficult for the organization to gain a foothold amongst the general populace." I cock my head to one side as I mull that over. In a way there's a certain type of logic to it. But it doesn't hold water for me.

"I'm surprised you thought that would work."

"Along with the memory inhibitor, we thought it would. They'd have to be confronted directly in order to be recruited…" Aarron sighs and rubs his hand across his face, pinching his nose for a moment.

"Best laid plans," I say but do so softly, so it doesn't sting too much. Even if that stupid train of thought deserves to be painful.

"So. When did you realize how badly you'd all screwed up?" Aarron grimaces.

"When I realized just how many of the Prefects had gone over to the Blood Sect itself."

"The Council of Prefects?" I ask, all of the information hitting me at once.

"They're in this too?"

"I'm afraid so. Many of them." Then he finally straightens in his chair and looks directly at me.

"And that's where you come in."

"Do tell."

"Your abilities are being kept a secret from the council. I'm fully aware that the reason I'm still Prefect and that this Enclave hasn't been discovered and razed to the ground is that when you were sent on that assassination and escaped so conveniently through the dumbwaiter? I know that you used your earthen abilities to escape. There's no other way. However. They didn't catch you and couldn't hold me because you used powers to escape. No one else knows this." He watches intently to see my reaction.

I don't give him any.

"And?"

"The reason I revealed what you are to those people in this room is that I believe one of them is a spy." That doesn't make sense to me either. A whole lot of confusing seems to be going around right now.

"But they'll pass that information on."

"Yes. But that information won't leave this Enclave." His eyes sparkle with bloodlust.

"I engaged the wards around the Enclave. Which is why I wanted to know just what type of abilities you have access to."

"Wards?"

"You've probably guessed it by now. But all of Korrien's Enclaves have wards stemming back to the times of mages. I can and will restrict all communications going in and out of this place."

"And in doing so, you'll catch the culprit." I blink, actually excited by this prospect. I want to see the wards, to feel how they act.

"And so I'm asking you again. What are your abilities? Or else the wards could zap you." He's staring at me intently and that bit of intuition rises up in me. He's had those wards up before, and I've had no problem using any of my powers. So all of this, to find out what my abilities are, is rubbish. My guard flies up even more.

"Just like I said. Water and earth. Both strong." I meet his eyes and hope he can't tell that I'm lying. Regardless of everything he's said, there's just something lingering that is screaming out a warning.

"Excellent," he says, a faint sigh of relief crossing him as he leans back.

"Then I'll activate the wards." I smile in return despite my churning gut. All I can do is hope that I didn't just make a huge mistake.