The Lost Runes Saga [Epic Fantasy]

TWENTY-TWO

"It's not funny," Vidar said, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms. Still, the guildmistress would not stop laughing.

Vidar looked back over his shoulder at Alvarn, who shook his head. "I think you broke her."

Annoyed, Vidar stood with a huff and glared across the desk. "I never said I'm a dragon. I said I have the power of a dragon!"

His assertion made her release another bout of laughter, which put him over the edge. He held his hand to the side, pointing his palm at the stone wall where a painting of some old man hung, concentrating to make sure he selected the correct rune. Vidar triggered it, having long since rejuvenated the logiz rune using dragon's essence.

Fire roared into life, streaming from Vidar's palm and striking the wall in an instant, obliterating the painting rather than engulfing it in flames. Bits of wood from the frame and paper crashed to the floor as Viktoria's laughter died away. She stood and half turned toward the door, as if readying herself to flee.

"Not lying," Vidar said, ignoring the pieces still smoldering on the floor.

"You're holding a rune," Viktoria said. "That rune. Logiz."

"I'm not," Vidar said, moving his hand so his palm faced the floor to show how nothing dropped out of it.

"A trick," Viktoria said.

He glanced back at Alvarn again, who gawked at the burning painting. Truth be told, Vidar himself hadn't expected such a powerful attack, and he thanked the fallen angels that using the rune imprinted on his skin hadn't burned him. If he thought it would, he wouldn't have added it, but he hadn't dared test it yet.

"The power of a dragon surges within my heartwell," he said, standing tall and trying to look as intimidating as possible.

"In your what?" Viktoria asked, sitting back down in her chair.

"It's his word for the metaphysical structure surrounding our hearts," Alvarn explained.

Viktoria pursed her lips. "Not a bad name for it, I suppose. If it is as you say, and you can store... what did you call it? The power of a dragon inside it?"

"It's their essence," Vidar said. "Nothing strange about it, just the essence of a dragon. I can give you some."

"He's gone mad," Viktoria said, licking her lips and throwing a glance at Alvarn. She still looked rigid, ready to bolt.

"No more than usual, I think," Alvarn said. "From the start, we just haven't known how mad he really is." Alvarn gave Vidar a pointed look before turning back to Viktoria again. "But he is telling the truth. I have received a speck of dragon's essence myself. I vouch for him."

"Two madmen," Viktoria mouthed. Her hand reached up to her chest to let it rest over her heart. "So you're saying those grand theories are proven correct? Is the transfer of essence between people possible?"

"It's always been possible," Alvarn said. "Studies show⁠—"

"I know all about the studies," Viktoria interrupted. "You know of what I speak. The heartwell, as Vidar here so aptly named it, the withered husk of human potential. You're saying restoration is possible?"

She asked the question of Alvarn, who removed his spectacles and wiped at them, looking to Vidar to answer.

"Mine is brimming with dragon's essence. I don't know about filling it with a human's, but I can give you some of what I have and it won't hurt you. I give you my word."

It was as if the guildmistress looked inward then, searching through her motivations and wants. When she looked up, Vidar saw a greedy glint in her eye and knew he had her.

"Do it," she said.

"If I do, will you take my word for the dragons approaching?"

Her jaw worked, but she was past the point of no return. "Fine. Show me, and I'll see that the guild is prepared for another assault."

"And you'll talk with the steward?" Vidar asked. "He might need some convincing."

"Yes," she said without a moment's hesitation.

Vidar stood and walked around the table to approach Viktoria. "If you go back on your word again, there will be hell to pay."

She just glared up at him before giving a single, curt nod. He reached forward, and she jerked back as if startled.

"I have to touch your heart," Vidar said, his voice soft.

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She remained stiff-backed and held her breath, but she allowed him to place a hand at the front of her gray dress of thick spun wool. Vidar closed his eyes and repeated the procedure he'd already performed on Rend and Alvarn, transferring a sliver of dragon's essence to the guildmistress.

Her heartwell expanded from its withered form, becoming a perfect circle, despite the small amount he added to it. Viktoria gasped, and Vidar opened his eyes to remove his hand but then felt something around his wrist. She grabbed him with one hand and reached for the other, throwing herself at him so they both tumbled to the floor.

All Vidar could do was let out a surprised groan. The hold had been too slow in coming to register as an attack by his algiz rune, and her weight on his chest sent a barrage of coughing his way. Now, he was on his back, with the guildmistress straddled over his stomach, her thighs pressing together to keep him in check.

The fall made her lose grip of his hand, and they were flailing now. Vidar attempted to roll but failed and instead punched her in the side with as much force as he could muster from that terrible position. "Get off!"

She grunted in pain but locked his hand against her body, grabbing it. At that moment, Alvarn reacted and rushed to pull her off. Viktoria held on, pulling his fingers back so far he thought they might break, staring at his palm with an intensity he hadn't seen in the woman before.

"Unhand me, you unhinged woman," he demanded.

As they fell, he'd almost unleashed the power of a stakra rune against her to reduce the woman to a hunk of dead meat, but held himself back. The dead guard with a hole through his chest back in that cell where he rescued Ida made him hesitate, and that was enough time for him to consider what killing the guildmistress of the rune scribes' guild would lead to. Cooperation with the rune scribes' guild after such an event was impossible. A cell would be the only thing waiting for him in that future.

After another lunge at his other hand, she relented and allowed Alvarn to pull her off. The first thing she did was turn to her desk and scribble something on a piece of paper.

"You're a madwoman!" Vidar shouted, getting to his feet to see what she was writing.

"Is this logiz?" she whispered. "No. Wrong hand."

That's what she'd been after from the start. The rune. Vidar and Alvarn both just stood there, unsure what to do with themselves. It wasn't until Viktoria finished her note and straightened her back that someone broke the silence.

"I can feel something inside," she said, putting a hand to her chest, acting as if their wrestling match hadn't happened. "In here."

Vidar shook his head in bewilderment. "You attacked me!"

Before answering, Viktoria shooed Alvarn back so she could sit in her chair. Calm as ever before, she then turned to Vidar. "I said nothing about not attacking you. We will prepare the guild and teach all members how to use the barrier rune, and I'll contact the steward to make sure they understand the seriousness of the situation."

"Grab me like that again, or have your minions make an attempt, and I'll incinerate you," he warned.

He turned and made as if to leave.

"Not if we have barrier runes," Viktoria said. "Is it true, then? You can talk to these dragons? Why not tell them to leave?"

Vidar opened the door with Alvarn in tow, then turned back to speak over his shoulder. "I can't talk to them. I can feel their presence, and they are not happy about their dead brethren. Mark my words, guildmistress, they are coming, and they are coming soon."

They slammed the door behind them, and they walked in silence until they'd left the building and were well on their way back to the house.

"You can't sense them, can you?" Alvarn asked.

"Of course not," Vidar said. "That would be silly. We need to be careful. They have the styrka rune now."

"I know."

"Do you think they will figure out its use? Will they attempt to trigger one?"

Alvarn pursed his lips and looked deep in thought. "I would say no. It is forbidden and more dangerous than most aspects of rune craft, but these are not normal times anymore. They are on edge."

"Unhinged," Vidar said.

"The guild mistress is under an incredible amount of pressure," Alvarn said a moment later. "But yes, she lost it in there. Good thing she didn't grab your other hand."

"I don't think she would have been able to see the logiz rune. It's just one among many, and they are small."

A pair of women, with a young girl between them, huddled on a street corner. Their clothes looked warm, with skin and fur in layers, but they still appeared disheveled and scared. Vidar thought Alvarn would stop and talk with them, perhaps hand over a warmth rune, but he didn't. Instead, he looked ahead, not even turning his head.

"Too many," Alvarn muttered. "The crown has to do something."

"You won't attempt to rescue them all by yourself?"

"I can't," Alvarn answered, his voice clipped like he was trying to hold it all together. "There are too many. Someone with more resources than us has to step in."

"Everyone out on the streets will be unprotected when the dragons show up, no matter how many houses we protect with algiz runes," Vidar said.

Alvarn looked back at the trio and sighed. "With so many houses already demolished, there isn't enough space for everyone either way."

"So what do we do?" Vidar asked.

"I don't know how to protect everyone, but there is one way we can help then."

Vidar rubbed at his eyes, already knowing what was coming. "Water cleaning stations?"

"Water cleaning stations."

"It's late. Very late. What even kept you so long at the guild?"

"Viktoria wasn't the first person I spoke to. They caught me talking to students, trying to make them understand what is going to happen, and distributing images of algiz runes. For a moment, I thought they were going to throw me into a cell. Instead, they let me into the guildmistress's office, and I spent hours in there." Alvarn sounded as weary as Vidar felt. "I could use a drink."

"No time," Vidar said. "If we have to fix one of those damn stations, then we're going right now."

"We need supplies to fix the one I'm thinking of."

While Alvarn gathered the necessities, Vidar checked on Rend, who was still either sleeping or unconscious. The boy's forehead was hot to the touch, and Vidar's hand came away wet with sweat. A smell permeated the room as well. A stench, more like. The leg wasn't getting better.

Erik slept on a pile of blankets on the floor. Even more blankets heaped on top of him. He looked young like that, without the cocky smile. Just a boy. Vidar felt old and ragged. His body ached with not-quite-healed wounds, despite the dragon's essence once again filling the entirety of his heartwell. Even the tattoos stung, but he'd run out of ointment.

Wanting nothing more than to put his head down and let sleep take him, Vidar focused inward, his attention on the heartwell. Maybe, just maybe, he could find an answer for his sorry state within himself.