Chapter 6
The carriage driver turned to bid us farewell, and did a double-take, mouth hanging open in shock. I just put a gloved finger to my lips and handed him more money.
"You didn't see us," I told him. He just nodded, blinked a few times, and then turned to drive away. I couldn't blame him, though. When two people exit a carriage with completely different clothing and hair colors it tends to be pretty jarring.
I had entered the carriage with my hair shoved under the hat, and what could be seen of it was purple. Now it fell straight down my back to just past my waist. I had changed the color of my hair to a rich mahogany brown with the silver pendant that was hanging around my neck. A gem set into the pendant gleamed the dark purple of my natural hair. It matched nicely with the dark purple gown I was wearing, a sleeveless satin number with a high neckline and a low back. There was a fur stole around my neck, the icy lilac of a northern Astorian fox. I'd managed to find a pair of lilac gloves that covered my arms all the way up to my biceps, and I was immensely thankful for them in the cold evening. The dress went all the way down to my ankles, and even though it wasn't exactly the definition of a "proper lady's attire" I was wearing the purple boots and some wool leggings under the dress. The Infinity Bag, which luckily matched the outfit nicely, hung from my right shoulder. Though I had to put some effort into it, I made it look like it was just a simple bag that didn't weigh a ton.
Rashaga, despite the fact that his clothing change hadn't been as drastic, looked even more different than he had when we first left the auction house. Thanks to a pendant he was also wearing, his now blonde hair was pulled back into a short ponytail. He had ditched his former green coat in favor of the black one, and after a bit of digging I'd found a pair of my old black slacks that fit him. He was still wearing the boots and glasses from before. The blonde hair combined with his eyes made him look Curian instead of Xianese, which was perfect.
"Shall we?" I asked, holding out my arm to Rashaga. He took it and I led us across the street and toward a large building made of a lot of glass and metal. It was the Northern Kiiren Opera House, one of the things Kiiren was most famous for among tourists, and it was, for some reason, where Don Kariya had decided we needed to meet him for the rest of my payment. There was a large metal clock in the courtyard outside of the Opera House. We were cutting it close - just fifteen minutes. Hopefully once I told the receptionist the password we'd be ushered in with no questions asked. I doubted anyone would recognize us or try to stop us in these outfits, though.
Despite the urgency I made sure we walked at a pace that suggested that we were just a pair of tourists here to see an opera. Indeed there was an opera tonight. Maybe that was why Don Kariya had wanted to meet here—he was already scheduled to be here in the first place, so why not kill two dragons with one spell? I just hoped that the "kill" part wasn't going to be literal.
As we made our way to the building's lobby I noticed nearly a dozen people who were watching the crowd and the clock a little too intently. There were a couple of corners that were more shadowy than they should have been, too. If we'd tried to come in here without disguises there was no way we would have gotten in without a fight. Or at all, for that matter.
There were a few clumps of people all dressed way better than we were standing around inside the lobby area and chatting. We approached the reception desk, and one of the hostesses I’d seen at the auction was sitting behind it. The one in purple who had greeted me at the entrance, in fact, unless she had changed costumes in the last two hours.
"Tickets for the public have already sold out. Do you have a reservation?" she asked, smiling in a calculatedly disarming way. I nodded.
"Sina Dara," I said. She traced a finger down a paper sitting in front of her with a frown. She stopped, evidently reading, and then her head snapped up to look at us, her mouth hanging open a little bit. She glanced from the paper to us, and then slowly nodded, staring at me a little closer. I just smiled, and casually reached into the infinity bag.
"You didn't see us," I whispered, sliding a gold bullion over to her. She nodded, and then rummaged under the desk for a second, withdrawing a pair of tickets.
"Through the doors on the left. You'll want to hurry, as the Opera will be starting soon!" she chirped, waving cheerfully at us as we headed off. Once we were out of earshot of most of the people in the lobby I found myself letting out a relieved breath.
"We made it," I said, with a smile. "I can't believe that went so smoothly." I suddenly looked around in a mild panic, expecting there to be an assassin lurking nearby just about to strike but...nothing.
An usher led us to our seats which, surprise surprise, were right beside Don Kariya himself. When we entered the little booth area that was no doubt Don Kariya's personal one, the man himself rose to greet us.
Just by looking at him, you could tell that Don Kariya was a very important man. He was tall, olive-skinned with strong storm colored eyes. He was wearing a flawlessly tailored dark red suit with gold embroidery. A matching red overcoat was in the arms of the attendant standing next to him, a tall, flaxen-haired woman with hard green eyes who was also wearing a suit, this one gold. Kariya had short dark black hair peppered with streaks of gray, the only indication of his age. He had a pristinely trimmed black beard and mustache. And more than anything, the way he stood and the aura about him suggested power, more power than anyone else for miles.
"You cut it close, my dear," he said, shaking one of my hands with both of his, and then turning to shake Rashaga's hand with a grin. "And I almost didn't recognize you. I'm impressed."
"My thanks, Don Kariya," I replied, inclining my head to him in a bow, which Rashaga hastily mirrored. Without preamble I reached into the Infinity Bag and produced the bag with the four million bullion inside. "I've brought the rest of what I owe, along with the inconvenience fee, as requested." Kariya nodded, but put his hands in his pockets, leaving his assistant to step up beside him and take the bag from me. She quickly counted the coins and inspected them for integrity, just as the auctioneer had earlier that day. Shortly she nodded to Kariya and took a seat. Kariya's hands came back out of his jacket, and he smiled.
"Good, good. Care to have a seat? This is said to be the finest Opera of the season, after all." I nodded.
"Of course," I replied, taking the seat next to him with only a little hesitation. Rashaga sat down next to me nervously. We were invited guests, and Kariya wasn't the type to do anything to paying clients, especially ones that had been nothing but polite to him for more than ten years... but it couldn't hurt to be cautious.
It seemed like we had, indeed, cut it close. Not five minutes went by, and the lights around the audience dimmed, light shining brighter on the stage. A little culture wouldn't be such a bad thing, and while I was sitting right next to Don Kariya, any thugs would be suicidal to attempt an attack.
Well, that was the idea anyway. I could let my guard down just a little. Right?
The thought had barely crossed my mind when I felt the attack coming. It was sudden, and it was big, and it came from somewhere on the stage, a surge of cold energy that made me snap to attention with a jolt. I was by far not the only one that felt it, either.
"Sir, get back!" Kariya's assistant snapped, lunging forward into a standing position with her hands up in a caster's pose. Rashaga wasn't standing but he, too, had raised his hands up and forward, arms bent at the elbows, and was muttering something under his breath.
What looked like a giant blue icicle streaked up and hit the dome of white light that was the protection spell that Kariya's assistant had cast. It was impressive, a top quality spell that by all accounts could have stopped any magic in its tracks. Any normal magic, anyway, but I could tell this wasn't normal magic at all. Little shards of blue gemstone slipped past the barrier and zipped toward us, but Rashaga was faster, and they smacked into his smaller barrier, stopping mere inches away from Kariya and myself. The shards exploded into mist, and then were gone. Kariya and I were both on our feet a second later, Rashaga scrambling to stand as well.
"It got through my barrier," the blonde gasped, eyes wide. Kariya looked furious, so I decided to step in.
"The caster is a Spectrum," I interjected. Both the assistant and Kariya turned to look at me, alarmed. Laughter echoed from the stage below, carrying to the whole audience thanks to the excellent acoustics in the theatre. There was a person standing at center stage, a cobalt blue cloak obscuring their features.
"A Spectrum? Here? Why?" Kariya asked. I shook my head.
"I don't know. The Spectrum for Kiiren is Citrine, and this isn't her," I informed him. Performers had rushed off of the stage after the attack, and guards had rushed on to it, weapons trained on the hooded figure. I frowned. Honestly, they were probably just putting themselves in unnecessary danger. I just wished I knew whether the Spectrum was attacking me or Kariya.
"Call off your guards, they aren't going to do any good," I advised Kariya. He frowned, but nodded, and gestured to his assistant.
"Guards, off the stage!" she called down to them. I could see them react with confusion, which only drew more laughter out of the hooded figure. "Mage, you have just launched a direct attack at Don Kariya, the leader of Curadon. Explain yourself!"
Instead of explaining, the mage lifted his hands in front of him and cupped them together, as if trying to catch water. An ethereal, watery glow sprang up around him and seemed to flow down his arms and into his hands.
"I cast this spell for the good of the world," the cloaked figure said, voice deep and booming. Glowing eyes locked on mine, and now I had a pretty good idea of who he was.
"Get ready to defend again," I said, without breaking eye contact. Then I snapped out of it, turning to look in turn at Rashaga and the secretary. "Both of you!" I turned to Kariya. "Do you have any enemies in southern Astor?" I asked him. He looked baffled for a moment, and then smiled tiredly and shrugged.
"I have enemies everywhere, my dear," he replied. There was a rush of magic and another icicle, this one even bigger than the last, shot up at us amidst shocked screams from the rest of the audience. Rashaga and the assistant were ready for it, though, both chanting "defend!" at the same time and stopping it with a combined shield. Blue powder made the air sparkle for a moment, and then the spell was gone. I shouldered my way between Rashaga and the assistant and grabbed the rail, leaning over a bit to make sure that I had the attention of the Spectrum.
"Kyanite!" I shouted. His head snapped up toward me, eyes going wide in his hood. "Stop this right now or things are gonna get really violent really fast!" The whole theatre was silent. I could feel both Rashaga and Kariya staring at me in shock, but I ignored them. The Spectrum was silent for a moment and then he reached up and threw back his hood. Wavy blue hair fell to his shoulders, and tan skin confirmed it. He was Kyanite all right. I had no idea what he was doing here in Kiiren or what he could possibly be doing attacking either me or Kariya, but it was certainly him.
"I do not know you, nor how you know of me," Kyanite started, looking up at me as he began striding forward, blue energy gathering around him again. "But I would advise you to step aside. My business is with Don Kariya this night." When he reached the edge of the stage his aura flashed with a surge of power.
"Ready the defense spell," I advised, but when I broke eye contact to check both Rashaga and the assistant were already casting.
"Kyan Pathway," the blue-haired man chanted, and with a flash and a loud cracking noise, there was suddenly a set of transparent blue stairs connecting the stage to the box we were standing in. Kyanite calmly began to ascend the stairs, and the rest of the people in the theatre began to panic.
"Sir, we should leave!" Kariya's assistant barked. He looked furious, but nodded. He turned to me.
"I would very much appreciate it if you could remain behind with my assistant to help hold this Spectrum at bay," Kariya said.
"How much would you appreciate it?" I asked, eyeballing the ascending Kyanite. Kariya made a gesture at the assistant, and she tossed the bag containing the four million bullion back at me. I hesitated for a second, and then nodded. We didn't have to kill Kyanite, just hold him off until Kariya could escape.
"Better get going," I replied.
"Be careful, sir!" the assistant called as he disappeared into the crowd of patrons, abruptly joined by two security guards. I tugged the Infinity Bag open and threw the bag of coins back inside, reaching in and pulling out my silver sword by the hilt, brandishing it with two hands as I did. Rasha got the hint and took point next to me, the assistant warily taking the other side.
"Kir," I said, getting Rashaga’s attention immediately. "That binding spell is probably the only thing that's going to work on this guy." He nodded. I turned to regard the assistant.
"If you could keep using those barrier spells, Miss, that would-" I started.
"Maria," she said, cutting me off. "And consider it done." I nodded. Okay, we just had to hold him off for a little while. If I was lucky, I wouldn't even ruin my dress.
Kyanite did not look amused at all when he finally climbed up to that final stair and entered the box with us.
"Gone already," he said, making it sound like a swear. He glowered at Maria. "I'll have you know that I've been planning this attack for months. I had your defenses worked out perfectly." Next he glared at Rashaga. "I was not expecting someone else that could throw such good barriers up." Finally, he turned his glare at me, and it was positively poisonous. "And you. Who the hell are you? How do you know me?"
"Your reputation precedes you," I explained, not lowering my guard or my sword. "I've heard a lot about the blue Spectrum that makes complicated water magic look easy and throws around ice like it’s going out of style." He literally growled at me in distaste.
"Still, to have that much information...who are you?" he demanded. I shrugged.
"A nobody. I pay my bills and do the dishes and water my plants just like anybody else," I replied. He didn't look convinced.
"I'll be sure to carve that on your grave," Kyanite threatened. I found myself grinning.
"Aww, you'd go to all that trouble? I'm touched!" I goaded. He gave me a flat look.
"Enough. Move aside and let me pass if you value your life," he grumbled. I smiled.
"Haha, no. You turn back around and go back to Crazy Town," I returned. His aura built around him again, and Maria tensed, readying her defense spell.
"Kyan Armament," Kyanite muttered, sweeping his hand out in a half circle. When his hand had completed the motion, a blue sword made of the same transparent gemstone appeared in his hand. He raised it in a mock salute to me and assumed his battle stance. He was holding the sword in one hand and readying a spell in the other. Nothing less than expected from the Spectrum, though.
"My mission is to rid Kiiren of the filthy tyrant that is reigning here," Kyanite explained, raising the sword to point directly at my heart. I brought my own sword up into a position to parry the blow. It seemed he was less a sword fighter and more a fencer, so I would really need to keep up my guard.
"Hey, I know the guy is a dirty criminal," I replied. Maria made an indignant sound, but I pressed on. "But he's a dirty criminal that's holding this country together. Kiiren needs him." Kyanite didn't even blink.
"For the good of the world," he said, and then lunged forward. I moved to parry, but didn't have to, as the sword stopped cold with the tip buried in Maria's defense spell. Kyanite pushed with more force and it broke through, but I was ready. Hoping I was right about the properties of the actual gemstone Kyanite, I swept my sword up in an arc and brought it down with both hands to crash into Kyanite's sword. The blade cut halfway through the sword and got stuck, which is what I'd been hoping for.
I planted my feet firmly and held fast as Kyanite furiously tried to jerk his sword back. While we were having our sword tug of war, Rashaga extended a hand and released his binding spell. The cords of light twined up Kyanite's legs and torso, but before the could actually bind him in place Kyanite made an angry noise and let go of his sword, a blue aura springing back up around him that pushed the spell away from his limbs and tore it to pieces in the process. The gem sword dissolved into powder, but I knew very well that he could make another one if he wanted to.
"I will not tell you again," Kyanite said. He swept his arm in an arc and produced another sword with a flash of blue light. "Step aside."
"No," I said, grinning cheerfully. Then I lunged forward, slashing my sword at him without hesitation. He blocked and pushed me back with some effort. I let him, landing in a crouch a few feet back just as Maria unleashed a blast of kinetic energy at him, golden light smacking into him and throwing him back against the wall of the box with a loud thump.
Even that vicious attack from Maria was only barely enough to slow him down. Kyanite managed to brace himself on the wall he had been thrown into, glaring at Maria through his pain. Another blast of gold light hit him, forcing him down to one knee, and finally into a kneeling position, Maria keeping up the spell's pressure with no apparent difficulty. I knew Kariya had employed some serious magical talent, but damn. She was really, really good. Cracks appeared first in the gemstone sword, and then in the transparent stairs the longer she kept up the spell.
"Damn...you..." Kyanite wheezed, glaring up at us even under the immense pressure of the spell that Maria was still keeping up. There were several loud cracking sounds, and then the sword and stairs shattered, dissolving into the blue mist. Blue suddenly surged around him, slowly beginning to push back the spell. I sucked in an alarmed breath.
"Kir, defense spell. Maria, drop your spell now!" I shouted. As soon as the glowing white of Rashaga's shield came into being, Maria dropped her spell with a gasp. Kyanite's blue aura grew bigger suddenly in a flash, and rapidly started to expand. I swore and grabbed Maria's arm, pulling her with me to where Rashaga was casting.
"Make the shield a sphere around us, it's our only chance!" I exclaimed. Maria just hurriedly started to cast, and I opened the Infinity Bag, reaching inside in something that just barely wasn’t a blind panic. The blue aura seemed to fill the entire box now, Kyanite's gleeful cackles filling the room as well. Just in the knick of time, I pulled out the small silver bracelet with the green gemstone set in it. I slammed it onto my wrist and slapped my hand over the gem and screamed "defend!" Maria's white shield and my green one sprang up at nearly the same time, forming a perfect sphere around us.
Transparent blue icicles exploded out of the walls and ceiling, stabbing through chairs, walls and empty air. Nearly half a dozen slammed into our shields and exploded into blue mist. If any of the three of us had been too late we might all have been skewered by the icicles.
The three interlocking spells and the icicles themselves were distorting the view of the rest of the box, but I saw a shadow turn and run for the exit. I grimaced.
"He's getting away," I reported.
"The hell he is," Maria snarled. She broke her stance, and the shield around us faded to be just the green of mine and the white of Rasha's. "Drop the shields."
"If you say so," I replied. She balled her hands into fists, lifting one to just above her right shoulder and tucking the other one against her ribs on the left. That same golden glow started to form around them, and when we took down our shields she lunged forward, slamming her right fist into the nearly solid wall of ice around us. Chunks of it shattered away from her fist and huge cracks radiated out from her hand. Without missing a beat she replaced one hand with the other, slamming her left hand forward with lightning speed. This time the entire icicle that she was punching just shattered, shards of ice and flecks of powder flying everywhere. Without stopping she repeated, moving onto the next icicle, and the next, until she'd cleared a path to one of the exits. Her suit was now covered in blue dust, as was her hair.
I was not as surprised as I perhaps should have been when she turned glowing golden eyes back to us, motioning with her head for us to follow. I had no idea how he had managed to get someone so powerful as his assistant, but Kariya was undoubtedly not paying this woman enough. I nodded back to her and hastened to follow, Rashaga right on my heels. She led us through a doorway and down a set of stairs. She was going down them so fast—and in heels, to boot!—that she might as well have been just jumping from landing to landing.
When we reached the bottom she threw herself through a door and out into the courtyard, a spell already gathering around her fist. I emerged a second later, Rashaga behind me. Kyanite wasn't anywhere in sight, though there were half a dozen icicles peppering the cobblestone pathways and lawn of the courtyard. Maria paused, eyes darting around the courtyard suspiciously.
"Over there," Rashaga said, pointing to the far side of the courtyard. A cluster of Kariya's guards stood in a circle with their swords pointed at one icicle. As we approached, I could see Kariya himself standing a little off to the side of the circle, arms folded and a smug smile on his face. There was another woman standing next to him, nearly identical to Maria aside from her jet black hair.
"Olivia," Maria said, as we approached. She sounded surprised, but also relieved, and her eyes were slowly turning back to their original green. Though I was only just now noticing it, her hair was also starting to change color too - it had become a bright, platinum blonde during the fight and was now returning to the color of flax. A pacted magic user, then. Perhaps her twin was, too? I looked from her to the raven-haired girl, and then to Kariya. He wasn't looking in our direction, though. I turned to look at what he was looking at, and froze in my tracks, Rashaga bumping into me and then also stopping.
Kyanite was standing inside the icicle that the guards had surrounded. No, standing wasn't the right word - he was trapped, immobile, helpless, and had a horrified expression on his face.
"What did you do?" Maria asked, walking up to stand next to her twin and look at the icicle. The black-haired woman, Olivia, smiled.
"I reflected his magic back at him," she purred. Her green eyes, the same shade as Maria's, flashed silver suddenly. That confirmed it, her twin was Pacted too.
"Can he breathe?" Maria asked. Olivia laughed.
"Of course. But after what he did, it would serve him right to suffocate in there, no?" she replied. Kariya chuckled, and Olivia turned to him.
"Sir, what would you like for me to do with him, now that he is our prisoner? Shall I turn him over to the authorities?" she asked. Kariya shook his head.
"No no, my dear. We need information from him. Can you move him in that ice?" he asked. She nodded.
"I should be able to," she replied. Kariya turned to Maria.
"Maria, could you be a darling and get rid of all of these ugly icicles? They are nothing but eyesores," he said. She nodded and turned to head for the nearest icicle without a word. Then, he turned to Rashaga and I.
"And you, my dear Spikora. I humbly thank you for your assistance. Unfortunately it seems that the Opera has been canceled for the evening, but if you like I can get a carriage for you," he replied. I bowed my head again, and Rashaga again hastily had to copy me.
"It was no trouble at all, and a carriage would be great," I returned. Kariya grinned.
“And I won’t soon be forgetting what you both did for me this evening,” he said. “Honestly, the four million was pocket change. I’ll be in contact with you at a later date to discuss reparations.”
“I’ll be going out of town on business soon, Sir, but when I return I’ll be sure to let you know,” I informed him, and he chuckled.
“Oh, believe me my dear, I’ll know when you’ve returned,” he said. He turned and looked at Rashaga, then back at me. “You know, once is a fluke, and twice in ten years can still be written off as just a passing fancy… but a third would grant you quite the reputation.”
“I’m just as surprised as you are, Sir,” I said, also glancing over to Rashaga, who had the decency to look confused. Kariya nodded, then turned to one of his other assistants, no doubt to instruct her to find us a carriage. I was just grateful that the conversation was over.