15 Chapter 15: A bird in the sky

One day later...

Though the forest was considerably altered, the little winding path to the village remained untouched. Even more so, the village itself continued to be a little slice of time utterly sheltered from the ravaging war outside its gates. The cottage was floating black clouds of smoke. The fire was lit casting a warm glow over the cool winter's eve. Three faces sat around in silence covered in darkness.

Veretta was staring into the flames with a vacant stare. Her arm and wrist had been somewhat haphazard bandaged by Tomas but she was covered in purple bruises across her pale skin. Her green eyes were unusually subdued. Her lips were split and she could faintly taste blood in her mouth. It was bitter.

Across from her, Tomas' face was tucked into his knees which he was hugging tightly without looking up. He had been crying in the early morning faintly from his room. Veretta had heard him but now he was quiet, almost too quiet for him.

Errik seemed the least perturbed of the three. Though it was hard to tell as his eyes always settled on the fire with his usual distant gaze. To Veretta's surprise, however, he rose and began to make some food.

Not long after he started, he presented two bowls of broth in front Veretta and Tomas. Both looked up with a mixture of shock then as their eyes panned down to the food thinly disguised hesitation. Inside the wooden bowls was a watery composition with half-peeled burnt vegetables.

"I can't cook," Errik declared almost proudly, "but if you're hungry it'll do,"

Tomas glanced up at him sceptically, "Where's yours then?"

"I'm not hungry," Errik replied with a shrug.

"Uh-huh," Tomas shovelled the food around suspiciously.

"Thank you, Errik," Veretta gave a weak smile.

Errik gave a nod and stood up, "well then, i'll leave you to it,"

He disappeared off into the back. When he was gone, Tomas pushed the bowl away distastefully.

"Is he trying to kill us?" he said drily.

"It's not that bad," Veretta replied, taking a sip.

"Yes, it is," Tomas shook his head. "I miss Charlotte's cooking,"

Veretta glanced up apprehensively, "Tomas..."

The words trailed. She didn't know what to say. It was only less than a day since they had buried Charlotte. Silthus' armies had disappeared but the savage remains of the battle littered the forest as a stark reminder. Though the greatest and most acute reminder was the consuming pain in both their chests.

"Fuck!" Tomas exclaimed suddenly. He slammed his fist bitterly against the table. Veretta's bowl hit the floor. She stared up speechless.

"This is not right!" Tomas went on with growing agitation, "How can we just let them go?! They killed Charlotte and we're here hiding her heads under the snow like damn cowards!"

"We talked about this and we agreed..." Veretta started.

"No - you agreed, Veretta!" Tomas pointed a finger at her hostilely, "you agreed on your own without talking to me. This is bullshit! I don't care if that demon or general or whoever it was said they would let us go. We should go after them!"

"To do what Tomas? " Veretta's eyes narrowed, "to get revenge? The one who actually killed Charlotte is dead so who are we getting revenge on? If not Silthus then for what reason would we chase after them? Just to get ourselves killed as well?"

"Silthus, Silthus, Silthus. That's all that comes out of your mouth!" Tomas' eyes widened, "Why couldn't you just listen to Master Ruis and stay in the college with the rest of us? You had to take things into your own hands as always!"

"So I was just supposed to let him go?" Veretta smiled sadly, "He killed my family. All I have left is this village and he was going to take this place too. No one wanted to help me. So tell me Tomas, what was I supposed to do?"

Tomas shook his head and dragged a hand over his mouth, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay," Veretta inhaled deeply, "but you are right about one thing. We need to decide what we're going to do,"

"If we want to kill Silthus, we need to go for the heart. These generals are just heads on the same beast. You cut one off and another grows in its place. We need to find a way to get to Silthus directly." Tomas said thoughtfully.

"That demon said Silthus' generals are riding north, east and west. Then who is holding the south? Maybe Silthus is?" Veretta considered.

"Well, think of this way," Tomas tapped the table lightly, "they don't know what we've done. That demon is a weirdo but it seems like he's going to cover our back for the time being. We should use the opportunity to get close Silthus,"

"How can we do that?" Veretta asked.

"Aren't you forgetting, Veretta?" Tomas grinned, "we are mages. We are a precious commodity. Even for Silthus."

"You're saying to infiltrate his army?" Veretta's eyes widened.

"Well, that should be the goal, but first we need to figure out where he is," Tomas replied.

Veretta reflected for a moment, "So, then what if we went to one of the southern colleges to find out? We could get information undetected,"

"That's a good idea," Tomas nodded, "So far, the colleges haven't been attacked by Silthus and they're keeping out of it too. If they let us cross the border we can make our way down south,"

"Then that's what we should do," Veretta released a sigh of relief.

"But before that happens," Tomas interrupted. "Before I go anywhere. I need to know one thing,"

Veretta glanced up. "What is it?"

"You need to tell me who that man really is," Tomas' eyes narrowed, "And you don't you dare tell me Errik's one of the masters, Veretta. I was out there in that forest. I've never seen anything like that in my life. His magic...it's unbelievable... Like a grand wizard or something. Except, he's cutting through hundreds left and right like a damn assassin. No common crook has magic like that. Nor any master I know who has clearly killed before. So tell me the truth this time. That's my condition. If you can't give me that much then you're on your own,"

Veretta's jaw clenched and she stared down at the table. "I wasn't going to keep it from you forever. I just wanted more time..."

"We're out of time," Tomas returned sharply, "So the truth, now,"

"I..." Veretta inhaled shapely, "I brought him back,"

"Back from where?" Tomas demanded. "The south?"

"The dead," Veretta answered quietly.

"Oh, Veretta," Tomas let out a soft gasp, "tell me you didn't..."

Veretta licked her lips. That bitter taste of metal caught her again, "I needed help. I didn't have the power to fight Silthus alone. No one else would help me so I...I started researching a way to bring back someone powerful enough to defeat Silthus,"

"Then who the fuck is he really?!" Tomas threw out his hands irate.

Veretta tucked her hands together sheepishly, "The black wizard."

"Oh gods," Tomas pulled back sharply, " I can't believe it...I can't believe you! We've had that murderous lunatic under the same roof as us the whole time?!"

"He's not a lunatic!" Veretta snapped, "you read his book, Tomas. Is there any other grand wizard in history with such an understanding of magic?"

"Are you forgetting the part where he destroyed his own wizard tower with hundreds inside? Or murdered the damn Emperor in cold blood? Or consorted with demons...demons we now know are very real!" Tomas stared at her in disbelief, "he could be on their side Veretta and you wouldn't even know!"

"He isn't," Veretta insisted, "he doesn't remember all that stuff,"

"Just because he doesn't remember, it doesn't make him a different person!" Tomas shook grievously, "you brought a human being back from death. You played god with powers even the mage's college doesn't fully understand. It's forbidden for a reason, Veretta! You know the stories. Never mind the fact, he's already insanely powerful but if any strange side effects crop up, the mage's college isn't going to help you this time. Oh, gods when they find out..."

"I will tell them eventually," Veretta answered.

"Telling them isn't the issue!" Tomas snapped, "You've already crossed the line,"

"What do you want me to say, Tomas?" Veretta implored.

"I...I don't know," Tomas's expression was a mixture of disappointment and dismay.

He stood up, "I honestly don't have words. I need some time to process all this,"

He rushed off outside. It was already dark. Veretta quickly chased after him.

"TOMAS!" she called after but he was already gone.

Veretta returned inside quickly to gather a lantern and cloak. She took her sword as well just in case. She was by the door when she heard her name. She looked back.

"What's going on?" Errik asked. His expression as usual was inscrutable.

"Tomas has gone," Veretta answered, "I'm going after him,"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Errik replied in a low voice.

"It's dark...and cold out...he's just angry. He hasn't even taken his things. I can't just leave him out there. What if he gets lost or..." Veretta stared down sadly, "I don't want anything to happen to him,"

"Then I'll come with you," Errik said quietly.

For a moment Veretta just stared at him, "No. It's okay. Don't force yourself,"

"I won't," Errik replied briskly then began to gather his things.

Veretta felt somewhat uneasy out in the dark once more but she had to focus her mind on finding Tomas. Errik found his tracks easily enough and they started toward the forest. It was bitterly cold and windy as they started out. The moon hung wide and ominous in the sky like a lost beacon. The stars were covered under the shade of clouds. The trees were cut back to burnt shadows shuddering under the strain of the wind.

They reached the hilltop and found the remains of yesterday's battle enshrined in ice and blood. They walked quietly through the forest when suddenly the trail abruptly ended. The two white tracks in the snow stopped in the middle of a clearing.

"Where could he have gone?" Veretta stared down apprehensively.

To her surprise, Errik let out a small laugh. She turned to him startled. "I remember this trick," Errik turned back.

He pointed a finger behind. Veretta turned back to see where he was looking. At the top of one of the trees, Tomas was sitting on the high branch. He stared down with a sigh.

"Why did you follow me?" he asked.

"Please come down, Tomas," Veretta pleaded, "let's talk properly,"

Tomas looked shrewdly at Errik, "I don't think it's safe,"

Errik flickered his wrist and the tree was rattled by a bloom of ice. Tomas was knocked out of the branches. However, he didn't fall. Instead, a rush of wind took him to the ground softly. He glared up at Errik, annoyed.

"So I hear you're some crazy dead wizard," Tomas crossed his arms. "Are you going to kill me? Is that why you knocked me off the tree?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Errik smiled, "If I was going to kill you, you'd already be dead,"

"Tomas," Veretta sighed, "please come back. Let me explain,"

"You already explained," Tomas said flatly.

"But you didn't let me finish!" Veretta argued, "I know what I did was wrong. I don't expect you to stay by my side now you know but I have to tell you why I did this. You know that Silthus' army has been unstoppable so far. Why? because he breaks the rules. He doesn't care who it is. Every great warrior or mage that faced him died a terrible death. My magic alone wasn't enough to defeat Silthus. I needed someone with power. Now we know about his generals too. It's only going to get harder and harder. We need someone with the power to rival Silthus' if we ever hope to tip the balance!"

"Well you certainly are an army unto yourself," Tomas regarded Errik coolly, "but aren't you just as bad Silthus?"

Errik met his gaze unflinchingly, "maybe. Maybe not. But I'll tell you both this: If there are demons involved in this war, It won't be as simple as it seems. You're going to have to put your morals aside if you want to fight for real. As it stands, my life is tied to Veretta. I am not a threat to you.

However, once Silthus discovers what you did, he'll want to make an example of you. I know his kind. So you had better decide quickly. Are you in or out, kid? If you're out then don't waste our time or your own. Start running now.

Otherwise, get ready to break even more taboos. Summoning me will be the least of your worries, trust me,"

Veretta was about to argue...She didn't want Tomas to feel cornered. She expected him to continue to argue as he usually did. However, Tomas was strangely speechless and appeared to be mulling over the words seriously.

"Don't call me a kid. I am not a kid," Tomas returned at length, "but I take your point. I'll stay for now,"

"Well you do seem smarter than you appear," Errik raised an eyebrow, "maybe you're older as well. Though not as old as me I think,"

Tomas swallowed, "No, definitely not".

"Then will you come back now ?" Veretta asked.

Tomas glanced at her with an uncharacteristically guarded expression, "For now,"

They started walking back to the cottage. Tomas was walking across from Errik still watching him suspiciously.

"How did you find me?" he questioned.

"Do you remember that person I said you remind me of?" Errik asked quietly.

"Vaguely," Tomas sniffed.

"Well, when he was a kid and he had done something bad, he would run away and hide like you,"

"I wasn't hiding," Tomas growled.

"I would look for him for hours," Errik went on with a smile, "I couldn't figure out where he had gone,"

"Then how did you find him?" Tomas asked curiously.

Veretta was walking a pace ahead but heard the conversation. She glanced back expectantly.

"Well, one day when he ran off I followed. I saw him jump and with a rush of magic, he flew up into the air," Errik gave a sad smile. "like a bird in the sky."