Page 37 of Veil of Vasara (Fate of the Five #1)

CHAPTER 37- BAZ

“I t’s not your fault,” one of the women from the camp tried to reassure me. The same camp that was now in tears, having just fled from the tracker’s attack. Having just watched people they knew, and love die before them.

Because of me.

I hung my head forwards between my legs. “Whose then?”

“You just weren’t ready.”

“I said that I was. I let them trust me. I—"

“YOU!” a woman came for me. Screaming, sobbing. Like the rest of us, her clothes were ruined. Her hair was matted with blood and dirt. We had been running for hours now. Half of us were wounded, some of us severely. Faina still hadn’t regained consciousness.

“You…you did this!” Her voice was shaking, her breathing was jagged, interrupting her speech. “Y…you…let them find us! And he’s dead,” she wailed. “He...h…he’s dead because of you.”

She sank to the ground, vibrating with the force of her sobs. Others surrounded her to comfort her, including the girl who had just tried to reassure me that his death, that all the others who had died, had not done so because of my failure.

“Claus was here for years.” She looked at me, and pushing the others away, strode towards me purposefully. I made no effort to back away. I deserved whatever she had to say, or whatever she would do.

“And you…you’re here for a few months and this. What gives you the right?” She jabbed me hard in the shoulder, causing me to lose balance slightly. “To live, to live instead of him?”

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Especially not now.

She jabbed me again and this time, I didn’t try to steady myself and fell to the ground. It felt better down there, it was impossible to meet her eyes that way.

“Enough.” Ullna stepped out of the shadows. “Contain yourself. Your husband is gone. Killing him changes nothing.”

The woman screamed furiously at her, while others pulled her away.

Ullna approached me. She stood above me, barely glancing down to acknowledge my presence.

“Get up, boy.”

I pressed my palm into the earth and rose, facing her.

“You’ll have to work five times harder to prove their lives were worth your own,” she snapped. “In all the years I have known Yaseer, I have trusted him. I can’t say we have always agreed, but I have trusted him. You and your friend might be the first thing that’s ever given me cause not to do so.”

What was I supposed to say? That I was deeply sorry about being the reason she doubted her long-term ally? That I would work ten, one hundred times harder to make sure I earned these people’s forgiveness? That I was wrong? Incompetent? That she was right, and I wasn’t worth the gamble?

But that would mean Nemina wasn’t.

And I had a feeling that no matter what I said, Ullna wouldn’t have cared anyway.

“Nothing to say for yourself?” she probed me.

Apparently saying nothing was also wrong.

“Nothing I think you’d appreciate.”

“Tsk.”

In the distance, behind us, I could see a man, a figure, dressed similarly to Ullna, swathed in dark brown and green travelling clothes. He dismounted from a horse and walked towards Yaseer, who was at the far side of the temporary camp we had set up here. We hadn’t been able to bring the large majority of the things we had taken here, so now, we were short on food, tents, supplies, medicine.

And people.

Ullna noticed me watching. “Stay here.”

She walked towards the two of them.

I sank into the ground and crossed my legs. I wondered what Nemina would say if she were here, what she would have done. I could only hope her mission was going far better than ours was.

I closed my eyes and practiced, mentally practiced starting the concealing spell again. Where had I gone wrong? Somewhere, at some juncture, I had faltered, the flow of my energy or sorcery was interrupted. I channelled it incorrectly but when? I had been so suI had succeeded. So sure.

“Acciperean.”

I opened my eyes. The man who had dismounted his horse was standing in front of me now. I wasn’t sure whether I should rise. I couldn’t see any of him, his cloak was completely covering his body, his hood, his eyes, and he was wearing a mask that covered the bottom half of his face.

“You are the Acciperean, yes?” His voice was deep, sonorous, yet severe.

“Yes,” I replied, realising how parched I sounded.

The man looked up, far over my head, thinking to himself.

“Perform the spell,” he said.

“The…spell?” I asked.

“The concealment spell. I’d like you to perform it again. Here. Now.”

“But…what am I supposed to conceal?”

The man turned and pointed at Yaseer. He was watching us curiously. Ullna was standing by his side, scowling. “Conceal his energy.”

The man returned his gaze to me and pointed at my shoulder. “Do you need someone to treat your wound before you try?”

I shook my head. “No, leave it. We need the medicine, and I’ve survived far worse than this… as a Vessel.”

The man nodded. “Then proceed.”

“Now?”

“Please. I have little time.”

I didn’t even know who this man was, but the glares of Yaseer and Ullna told me that I was expected to fulfil his request.

And so, I did. I closed my eyes, I repeated the steps, exactly as I had done, hours ago, focusing my channelling on Yaseer. He was a good choice for this test, he was powerful. I had never seen which class, which ability Yaseer possessed, but I could sense his power. He was a class two at least, perhaps even one.

A few minutes later, I opened my eyes and stood. “It’s done.”

The man turned around and faced Yaseer. I didn’t know what he was doing. If he, too, were closing his eyes, I wouldn’t have been able to tell.

It was only a few seconds after, when he turned back around. “Follow me.”

He walked towards Yaseer and Ullna. I walked behind him.

“Well?” Ullna asked him, raising her eyebrows expectantly.

“It worked. The Acciperean can perform the spell successfully.”

Ullna tutted. “On occasion, it would seem.”

“I…” I hesitated as all three of them looked in my direction. “I performed it in the exact same way earlier. There were no changes. I’m sure.”

“Just how sure can you be? That was only your second time casting the spell,” Ullna responded.

“Ullna,” Yaseer cut her off.

“She is right,” I spoke. “It is only my second time. I cannot be completely certain, but I am…confident.”

“That means little to us,” Ullna stated.

The cloaked man spoke. “You must consider the possibility. I have tried to warn you before. You have not listened.”

“It’s impossible,” Ullna slashed her hands through the air.

“It is worth considering,” Yaseer said.

“Considering what?” I dared to ask.

“This does not concern you,” Ullna said to me.

“Of everyone here, he is the only one we can be certain to trust with this information,” the cloaked man told Yaseer and Ullna.

Ullna huffed. “Is he? If he were the one, it would make sense for him to sabotage his own spell, and lead them right to us, only to demonstrate later that he could perform it.”

“You discovered him, did you not? That is what you told me Yaseer,” the man asked him.

“We did, however, we have discovered and rescued several of these people.”

“How can he be the one, if he had not approached you himself?” the man asked.

“Then by your very logic, anyone who has not done so is not the culprit. Why then do you say he is the only one?”

Culprit?

“Do you believe there is a traitor here?” All three of them looked at me at once.

“No.”

“Yes.”

Ullna and the cloaked man both spoke at the same time.

“These attacks occurred long before the Acciperean arrived,” the man pointed out.

“And before many others,” Ullna retorted.

“Of those, only a handful were discovered by you, yes?”

“Seven or so,” Ullna confirmed.

“Then surely, they too, are free from suspicion?” Yaseer asked.

“But he is the only Acciperean,” the man pointed a gloved hand at me. “They are far too valuable, too sought after, to use in this manner.”

“That could be the exact reason he is perfect for the task. Nobody would suspect someone to give up an Acciperean so freely.” Ullna looked me up and down.

I thought about waving my hands in protest, exclaiming ‘I am not a traitor!’ but it seemed utterly pointless, and I couldn’t help but feel it would only make me appear more guilty, especially to Ullna.

“It would not happen. Trust me on this,” the man sounded assured.

Ha. There was no reason for me to defend myself when this mysterious figure was doing a perfect job of it.

The man turned to me.

“Give me your hand.”

I glanced sideways at Ullna and Yaseer, who nodded at me. I held out my hand, unsure of the position I was meant to place it in, my palm facing the air.

The man took my hand in both of his gloved ones. He didn’t make a sound, he just stood there.

The wound in my shoulder began to ache less and less, until it was no longer there.

The man let go of my hand, hissing in what seemed like pain as he did.

I couldn’t believe it. I had thought they were all dead. I had thought perhaps they were a myth.

Healers, the only ability ranked class one for Dareans.

I let out a delighted laugh. “You actually exist,” I said to the man, unable to stop myself from smiling.

The man ignored me completely. “It is not him.”

“You didn’t have to do that to confirm this…” Ullna’s voice became softer. I’d never heard her speak that way before. She was worried about this man.

“It was necessary and now we can be sure.” He addressed Yaseer. “Where is his companion?”

“She is…not here,” Yaseer met my eyes briefly.

“And that is for the best, especially now. That girl is like an arrow, drawn in a bow, waiting to be shot at any moment.” Ullna shook her head in displeasure.

“She sounds like you,” Yaseer said to Ullna. I could hear the smile in his voice.

This was unusual. These three individuals had probably known each other and been friends for many years. Watching them was a reminder of all the things that I, that Nemina, that anyone who was ever a Vessel had been deprived of. It was also a reminder of how long they had been planning this, of hoping for something more.

Ullna tutted again. “Nonsense.”

Yaseer smiled. “There are similarities.”

I was beginning to feel I should leave.

“Is she?” the man asked me. “Your companion?”

“Is she what?” I asked, momentarily distracted.

“Like an arrow, waiting to be fired?” He sounded genuinely curious.

“She’s…” I thought hard. “No. She's more like an arrow that an archer shot from a bow, only to be picked back up by that archer, and then fired again and again, against her will. And now, she doesn’t know how to do anything other than be that arrow.”

I had been looking at the soil, and shook my head in surprise at my sentence, clearing my throat.

“And what about you?” the cloaked man asked.

“Can anybody ever answer such a question about themselves? Could you?” I asked him.

He was silent.

“Well, I can’t,” I mumbled.

I was tired, and this day had truly been awful. I didn’t feel like answering any more questions that related to me possibly being a traitor or the nature of my soul.

“Where did you come from?” he continued his line of questioning.

“Audra,” I replied.

“It’s the worst of them, I’ve heard,” he said.

“Are there any which are good?” I huffed.

Ullna and Yaseer were watching us both thoughtfully.

“And originally?” He was asking about my birth Kingdom.

“Audra,” I said again.

“And your companion?”

“I don’t know. But she came from Audra as well. She’d been transferred beforehand, several…times.” I paused as I took in a breath. I truly needed some sleep.

The man looked to the side as if thinking again.

“They were being transferred from Audra to Kalnasa,” Yaseer mentioned, obviously something he had not had the opportunity to share with the man until now.

“Back there?” the cloaked man said to himself.

Yaseer frowned as if he did not understand the nature of his comment, Ullna however didn’t seem surprised.

“It’s troubling,” the cloaked man stated.

“Yes, we think so as well,” Ullna confirmed. “We’ve sent someone to investigate.”

“I will do the same.”

“It’s too risky for you,” Ullna said.

This man must have been someone with eyes upon him, I concluded, with visibility, and a reputation to maintain.

Although, I thought, it was hardly as if that made him heroic. Most sorcerers were born villagers, poor, townspeople, merchants, ordinary people. They could not avoid detection. They did not have the ability or power to do so. If any of them had been born into power, then assisting others like them was the least they could do in such circumstances.

But still, it was a risk. A sorcerer born into power or position could have avoided doing anything at all, and lived a comfortable life, hiding their abilities.

The man placed his gloved hand on Ullna’s upper arm. “Do not think of me. Think of yourself, and those you are protecting here.”

He removed his hand then said to me. “I am sure we will meet again.”

“I don’t even know who you are,” I remarked.

“You do not need to know. Only that I am on your side.”

I wanted to know, however. Regardless of whether I needed to.

“What should I call you then?”

“They call me the Healer here.”

“They must be upset that you’re not around more often.” I thought of all the wounded, and pointed to my shoulder.

Ullna took great offence at my words once again. “They are grateful. He has done far more for us than you can comprehend.”

“What do I call you?” the man asked me.

“Baz.”

“And your companion?”

I glanced at Yaseer furtively before answering.

“Nemina.”

The cloaked man nodded slowly.

“I will remember that. Good luck.”

“And to you, and thank you for.” I gestured to my shoulder for the second time.

“Farewell,” he said to Yaseer and me. He walked away, Ullna followed him.

When they were several steps away from us, I asked Yaseer, “Do you know who he is?”

“No, only Ullna knows.”

“Only Ullna?” I said, surprised. “How does she know him?”

“I am not sure.”

Wasn’t he supposed to be the leader of this group?

“How long have you known him? How long has he been urrr…?”

“Around four years now.”

“I can’t believe it. A Healer.” I shook my head.

“Yes. It’s quite miraculous.” We both stood quietly watching him depart, as Ullna said her goodbyes.

“Do you think he’s right, about a traitor?”

“I think so,” Yaseer sounded exhausted.

“How will we find them?”

“There is only one way that we can do it, with great assuredness.”

“Which?"

Yaseer sighed.

“We need a Telepath.”