The World Walkers: Quiar: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 9, 91st continuation)

[k_a_webb]

Part 1

Part 9, 90th continuation

Landing Page

The letter wasn’t an easy one to write, but Peric wanted to do it. Hereward wouldn’t know who it was from, and would probably think everything within it was a lie, yet it was something that had to be done if Peric wanted to be able to live with himself. Tearing apart someone’s mind… he shuddered. It wasn’t something he’d wanted to do – it was something he’d had to do and something he would do again if that was the only way to protect his friends. Unfortunately the only thing he could have done to stop the attack from happening was open himself up to the feelings of everyone in Seahorse Port and that, he knew, would probably destroy his mind. He’d heard of other empaths dealing with it themselves before managing to create shields that would protect them from the emotions of everyone else, although being that strong was rare.

Sighing, Peric screwed up another sheet of paper and tossed it in the general direction of the paper collection. Nothing he wrote seemed right. How could he tell Hereward what he’d found out from the assassin in such a way that he might actually believe it? The last thing Peric wanted was for someone to get hurt because they weren’t prepared for what might happen. He nibbled on his bottom lip. Not even the assassin was certain that there was a link to Fasach. It was just something they’d heard the goanna brag about and that meant it could be misinformation. If only things were simpler – knowing for certain that there was a link would make writing the letter simpler and much harder at the same time.

After scribbling down another few words Peric threw another piece of paper towards the collection box. No one wasted paper, not when it could be recycled so easily, and that, at least, made him feel a little less annoyed with himself for all the started letters. In time someone else would use the paper for something else. Yet, as he stared at the pile he’d created, he wished he hadn’t made it. Getting difficult letters right first time was something he’d prided himself on and finding the words he needed eluding him was hard to deal with. Everything that had happened was hard to deal with, really.

Meeting Lucille had been the highlight of it all. Without that brightness, without knowing that he’d made a good friend because of the case, Peric could easily imagine turning his back on it all, even though that might mean the counterfeits kept hurting people. Travelling had never been something he wanted to do, so even going to Seahorse Port had been hard enough, and now it looked like there was going to be a journey to the most dangerous place in the world for white mice. He slumped in his seat. Thankfully they’d be getting the charms to change their appearance from Kaito and that really was the only reason he was even thinking of actually going, because the charm the fox Moonjumper had created for him had worked wonderfully well.

Bertram sat with Sini. They were both silent, even though it would have been nice to have heard Sini’s voice, but after everything that had happened the two of them needed to think. Going to Fasach, with a Moonjumper and a white mouse, was not the safest plan, and yet it was the only one they had, now that they had a connection to the other hame. One that no one would believe they had, because Peric had taken everything he needed out of the assassin’s mind. Who was currently in one of Meriwether’s rooms. As Bertram glanced at his wing he tried not to let the anger he felt get the best of him, because he needed to think without letting his emotions cloud his judgement, which was something he’d never been particularly good at.

The assassins had tried to kill him and Lucille. For money. Nothing else had mattered, according to Peric, and Bertram was having trouble coming to terms with that. How could they have so little care for other people’s lives? Yet, thanks to Peric, Bertram couldn’t help feeling sorry for the people they had been before, which was making it hard for him to contemplate anything other than giving her a chance of a new life. Even though she didn’t deserve it, not after what she’d done, the person she could have been if she hadn’t become an assassin did. Maybe, if she had another chance, she’d make different, better, decisions, because she was still young enough to start again.

Part of him really was tempted to say no. Bertram did his best to ignore that part, because it was holding on to the anger he’d felt when he had no idea who the assassins were, and it kept telling him that didn’t matter. The rest of him disagreed. Who she was did matter. Who she could be, if she was given a chance, did matter. If she had another chance, if she could live her life again, maybe she would make different choices, and it was that possibility, no matter how slim it was, that made him decide he was going to give her just that. Yes, she might make the same mistakes again, but in the end the only thing he could really do was let her start again.

If he didn’t he would be just as bad as she was and the one thing Bertram refused to do was stoop to their level. Anger wasn’t going to change who he was, so when Meriwether came to ask him what his decision was he would be able to say that he was happy for her to move on… although happy might not be the right word. He accepted that moving on was what would be best for her and he was going to put her first, rather than the way he felt, because, really, it would help to assuage Peric’s guilt and that was something that was very important to Bertram. Peric was his closest friend and doing what he’d done had hurt him, so helping the assassin would, hopefully, help the pain to fade from his eyes.

Just before sunset Lucille made her way to the place Kaito called home, trying not to think too much about what she was going there for. Fasach was somewhere she’d always assumed she’d never visit, because she was a Moonjumper and going to Fasach was suicide, and yet that was exactly where she was planning on going, even though there was a chance that whatever Peric had found in the assassin’s mind has been untrue. She couldn’t decide whether she believed that the memories were true or not… but from the fear she could see in his eyes she knew he thought they were.

“What do you need, Lucy?” Kaito asked, as she walked in, without bothering to look up from whatever it was he was doing, and that made her wonder exactly how much being on Quiar had changed him, but that was a question for another day.

“Three charms to disguise us.” Lucille ran a hand through her hair. “We need to look like Faschis.”

Kaito looked at her, the shock obvious in his eyes. “You need to look like what?”

“Fasachis, Kai.”

“Why?”

“Peric found the assassin who survived.”

“There’s a connect to Fasach.”

“He wouldn’t talk about what he’d found out, but Bertram asked if what he’d found out scared him and it was obvious then that finding a connection to Fasach would terrify him. At the moment I think he’s still working on a letter for Hereward, to be sent anonymously, because none of us think Hereward will believe us if we tell him that there is a connection, yet we want him, and the other guards, to be forewarned.”

“You’re probably right about Hereward not believing you, but sending him a letter isn’t going to change things. No matter who he hears the news from he isn’t going to want to accept that it’s true, because Fasach and magic…” Kaito shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“I know.” Lucille shrugged. “That’s what we said and Bertram is right, all we can do it take it one step at a time until we find the path that leads us to whoever created the counterfeit ring. We all think we’ll probably end up in Theas.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I’m not sure how Peric is going to deal with all the travelling, but he’s not going to stop. I did say that he could go home and I’ll finish this off without him, if it is too much to deal with, because I worry about him dealing with all this.”

“Peric’s strong, Lucy, and he will be fine. It’s just going to take him some time to come to terms with everything that’s happened, because having this sort of thing happen to you isn’t easy, especially when you aren’t ready for it.” Kaito smiled. “We’re trained to be ready for pretty much anything and then we prepare ourselves for everything else, once we realise how dangerous a position we’re in, because we have no other choice. Being a Moonjumper is dangerous. Being a true Moonjumper is even more dangerous. Being a true Moonjumper who breaks the first rule…”

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.

Comments

Feedback

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>“There’s a connect to Fasach.”<<

That should say "connection" above.