Chapter 948: Old "Friends"

Tillian rubbed the back of his neck.

This really wasn’t how he’d seen this going.

Then again, this was really putting a lot of work in that particular thought. Things hadn’t gone the way he’d expected them to for quite some time. Tillian would have been lying if he tried to say that he hadn’t felt a bit lost as of late.

He’d spent years delving deeper into the Inquisitors. Trying to unearth all the plots and evil that had buried itself at the very heart of the organization. Searching for the secrets that they’d been covering for only the gods knew how long. And just when he’d started to get close to getting some of the answers that he’d spent much of his life pursuing…

The entire godsdamned Arbalest Empire had turned to stone.

That included the people within it.

Tillian was no stranger to death or loss. It had been a part of his life for as long as he could remember. That was just the way of the world. But the sheer scale of the destruction was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Unlike anything that anyone had ever seen before. Anyone within Arbalest, at least.

The numbers of dead were staggering. Those that remained could be counted on a single pair of hands and feet. All the dreams, stolen. The potential that had been lost. And, as selfish as he knew it to be, his own purpose had turned to stone along with everything else in the empire.

The Inquisitors, their libraries, and everything that he had dedicated himself to unearthing was just… gone.

He had no duty anymore.

The disciples of the ones known as Apostles had given him something to focus upon. Alice was definitely a powerful mage. One stronger than he’d ever come across. But Tillian, though he did not enjoy bragging, was an incredibly competent mage in his own right.

It did not take him long to fulfill her odd requirements and graduate from captivity. Then she had set him free… and he had wandered.

For months, Tillian had meandered aimlessly through Obsidia. He hadn’t so much had a goal as he had simply walked for the sake of it. He’d fought monsters, aided those he’d come across, and done his best to simply occupy his mind with anything other than the crushing weight of the knowledge that his existence had completely and utterly ceased to have a purpose.

Tillian had come to the tournament for no reason other than that Alice had mentioned he’d been signed up for it. He couldn’t have cared less about getting recruited by some powerful mage. It had just been something to do.

But today, as he stood staring at the smoldering rubble of what had once been a dining table stacked high with food — he couldn’t help but feel a certain clarity entering his thoughts that had not been present for a long time.

There had been someone here.

A musician.

Tillian hadn’t seen them himself. He’d only heard a hint of their music, which he had only been fortunate enough to pick up because a few people far across the room had been talking about the Prophet choosing some very odd entertainment. And, after the lights had inexplicably gone out, Tillian had been bored and curious enough to check out exactly had happened.

But even though he hadn’t quite been fast enough to catch the musician before he had slipped back into the crowd, that tiny hint of music that Tillian had managed to hear had been quite enough to stir old memories.

There was something within the song that felt painfully familiar to him. It was a whisper of ancient power, buried deep within the notes of the music. A whisper that Tillian would never forget. He had absolutely no doubt about it. The power he’d felt had impossibly similar to that of The Night’s Shadow.

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Even though its purpose had clearly been different, even though it was probably related in the way a cousin was more than a father or brother… it was still similar.

Too similar.

And even though he hadn’t been fast enough to see the musician himself, Tillian didn’t need to.

He had the scent.

For the first time since Tillian had arrived in Obsidia, a faint smile pulled across his lips. He stood there, watching the smoldering table as murmurs filled the air from the crowd all around him.

Someone had magic like that of the Night’s Shadow.

And if there existed another magic like that, then there was a chance — no matter how small — that the damage that had been done to Arbalest could be undone. All the lives that had been frozen within warped stone had a faint possibility of drawing breath once more.

No matter how faint that chance was, Tillian couldn’t pass it by.

It seemed he was going to have to hunt down a certain musician.

Oddly enough, the sound of the music had sounded slightly similar to one he’d heard before. The odd mage that had gone up against Father had used an instrument that made a very similar sound. But that man had died. Alice had been quite clear — and evidently disappointed despite her attempts to hide it — about that.

It didn’t matter either way.

Tillian had a new target.

***

Noah hadn’t been planning on stopping his performance until someone had physically dragged him off the table.

After all, it wasn’t like Vivian was going to actually punish him. She’d said he could do what was needed to get the Apostles on his side. He was pretty sure he’d accomplished that, and in what was definitely record time.

That definitely entitled him to a little bit of extra leeway.

But he’d only made it about ten minutes into his performance when he’d spotted a very familiar young woman staring at him from the crowd, her normally icy expression broken bit a mixture of awe and recognition. She’d definitely changed since the last time Noah had seen her.

Frozen silver hair that had once fallen low past her shoulders was now cut short, and there were a few new, thin scars along the side of her neck. Experienced had etched itself into her very being, all the way down to the way she stood. Even her eyes seemed sharper and deeper — almost like he was looking into the soul of a frosty lake.

Even all of those changes were nowhere near enough to make Noah doubt her identity for so much as a moment.

It was Emily.

Noah had missed a note when he’d spotted her. Then he’d hurriedly dropped from the table, banishing his violin as he swept toward her.

“You,” she said. “You’re definitely—”

“It’s been too long, Emily,” Noah said, taking her by the shoulder and slipping into the crowd before she could even finish her sentence. “We should take this elsewhere.”

“It’s really you?” Emily asked, nearly tripping over herself before she hurried to match Noah’s pace.

“Who else would it be?” Noah asked with a laugh. They wove past a few more groups, making for the edge of the room so they could leave his previous audience far behind. Noah didn’t want anyone following after them to eavesdrop. “Do you know anyone else with that violin?”

“No,” Emily said, laughing as well. “It’s so good to see you. Brayden said you were alive. But seeing it is different. Hearing it too, I guess. Part of me couldn’t believe it, even though I knew it was true. You’re too insufferable to die so easily.”

“Insufferable?” Noah asked, aghast. “Is that any way to speak to your teacher?”

“You’re not my real teacher,” Emily said with a snort. “More like a substitute. That honor only goes to one woman.”

Then Emily hesitated. Unease entered her gait and she slowed, forcing Noah to turn to look back at her. Her hands clenched at her sides as worry carved across her features.

“Is—”

“I’ve met Moxie at the tournament,” Noah said, guessing Emily’s question before she’d even started it. “She’s here. And safe.”

Emily let out a relieved breath. “Oh, thank the gods. Not that I ever doubted her. I knew she’d make it. I — uh, don’t tell her I was worried. Please.”

Noah chuckled. “It can stay between us.”

“Good,” Emily said with a relieved breath. “Damn. I can’t believe — no. It doesn’t matter. I don’t think we have much time. Where have you been? What happened?”

“The answers are too long for me to give you anything satisfactory anytime soon,” Noah said with a shake of his head. “They’ll have to wait. I promise I’ll tell you everything when there’s time. Have you seen any of the others?”

“Just James and Brayden. But you’ve obviously seen Brayden,” Emily said. “He told me where you’re staying.”

“Okay.” Noah nodded. “That’s a good number of us. Keep an eye out for the others. There here. I’m sure of it. I’m looking as well. Obviously. But the more eyes we’ve got, the more likely it is we find everyone sooner.”

“I will,” Emily said. “I—”

Then her eyes went wide.

A hand fell on Noah’s shoulder.

He’d been so focused on the conversation — and completely crippled by his inactive domain — that he hadn’t realized that someone was coming up behind him until they were right upon them.

“You know,” Kyyle said, drawing up alongside Noah. “I was wondering where you’d run off to so suddenly. After our little chat, I figured I’d keep an eye on you. See if anything else interesting happened. But what do we have here, Spider? A friend of yours? Care to introduce me?”

The blood drained out of Noah’s face.

Oh, shit.