Page 15 of Deadwood
Taylin had never been outside the chasm, but she knew what all of Amosite looked like. She’d tell me stories about Silicate, the garbage in the streets, the people bustling about. It didn’t always sound pleasant, but it didn’t have to be. It soundedreal. Sometimes I caught myself thinking of what it’d be like to be down there, a part of it all, to overhear gossip, take part in conversations with strangers just for the hell of it, and smell freshly prepared food. That was never to be my destiny, but now I’d get a glimpse at it.
The door to the castle opened and another guard slipped out, mumbling something to my appointed guard. After a few exchanges, the guard went back inside, and the redhead started for me.
“I suppose our visit is being cut short,” I said, disappointment evident in my tone.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“I’ll do my best.” I’d miss Taylin for the days I was gone, but I’d see her as soon as I returned.
“My Lady,” the guard started.
I stood, waving him off, then pulled Taylin in for a quick hug. Out of the corner of my eye, the guard tensed, but he made no attempt to split us apart.
“Love you, Tay,” I said quietly.
“Love you lots, Auria. This will be good for you,” she replied with a smile as I let her go.
Leaving Taylin in the gardens, I followed my guard back inside the castle. The doors closed behind us, taking the sunlight with them. The long hallway was dim as we walked toward the stairs that led down to the cellar.
The silence enunciated our footsteps on the stone as we descended the stairs. Once we reached the large, wooden door, the guard gave me a short nod before I twisted the handle and slipped inside.
I let loose a sigh when I glimpsed the list on the parchment stuck to the wall. After a quick read-through of the specific magics I was meant to duplicate, I eyed the vials, finding the first one on my list—healing magic.
He wanted me to fill half a dozen crates with the healing vials alone, then continue on to fire magic for the lanterns and hearths, and lastly, strength vials. I could only assume he needed an abundance of those for the guards that would be on the trip with us. He never listed what they were to be used for, but I always tried to guess, sort of like a game to make light of the work. If it was water vials I was to fill, I assumed the wells weren’t producing as much as he liked; if it was fertile magic, I guessed he’d be sending them to Sulphur to encourage faster, healthier crop growth.
Today, though, it was simply the three types—healing, fire, and strength—but in great quantities.
I’d be tired, but it wouldn’t be the worst I’d endured.
Using a ribbon on the shelf, I tied my hair back and got to work.
* * *
A beadof sweat dripped down my brow as a dim pink light glowed from my palms around the vials in each hand. To duplicate magic, I had to hold the existing magic, let it flow through me like blood in my veins from one hand to the other, and as a result, it would fill the empty glass.
I assumed what drained me was the magic passing through my body. Some magics were more extreme than others in the toll they took on my body, but healing salves, in comparison, were the easiest for me to deal with, as some part of it healed me as it flowed.
Almost like the healing magic cared for my body, not wishing to steal my energy as it heeded to my power.
I’d already fulfilled the fire and strength crates, along with half the healing ones, each labeled so I wouldn’t get the numbers wrong. I’d purposefully left the other half of the healing vials for last, hoping they’d refill at least some of my energy so I didn’t walk out of here completely drained.
The door to the cellar opened, and I jumped, the vial in my hand dropping to the ground with a crash. Tiny pieces of glass littered the floor, glowing magic oozing out onto the stone. I quickly willed the light to disappear from my palms. With the shards mixed into the green substance, the magic was useless. I silently cursed myself, hating that I’d wasted a perfectly good resource due to my clumsiness.
Remembering the door opening behind me and that I wasn’t alone, I spun around to find my father entering the stuffy room.
His focus drifted to the mess at my feet. “You need to be more careful.”
“Why are you down here?” I asked, slight panic lacing my words, despite now knowing it was only him. No one was allowed in here aside from me and my father, and even then, he rarely entered, so the sound of the door hinge creaking had sent alarm bells blaring through my mind.
He gave me a blank stare, but I didn’t miss the judgment in my mess up hidden there. “It is my castle. I may go wherever I please.”
“But you never come down here.”
He closed the door behind him, taking a step further into the room as he surveyed the crates.
“You surprised me,” I said, the silence all too loud, knowing he was disappointed in me breaking a vial.
“Clean it up,” he instructed, not glancing my way.
