The deal

Chapter 12: The deal

Edward walked next to Kira, hardly a hairsbreadth apart, so much so that they would bump shoulders or graze their hands against each other. Edward would mumble some apology and look away embarrassed each time. Even so, he continued clinging close.

Everything that had happened to Edward in the last 24 hours had been like a flood washing him down stream. He was desperately seeking anything solid to grab hold of and breath. Kira was that anchor, and the thought of losing her felt as though he was being swallowed up again in that torrential river.

They reached a building over-looking a small garden with a fountain, a short walk from the stairs leading to the palace. A mixture of timber-frames, plaster and brick as well as the small and unevenly placed windows combined to form the building’s facade.

They were welcomed and shown inside by a prim and smartly dressed man. He took them down corridors that smelt of varnished wood, the floorboard creaking as they walked. Finally, they were brought to a white painted room with a large table in the middle and dark varnished wainscotting.

Edward and Kira were shown to seats at one end of the table. Atlestan sat at the other with Rosna standing next to him. The smartly dressed man then said a few words to Edward. Kira translated ‘Mr Thiflas wants to know if you would like a drink. They have tea.’

‘They have tea in this world? Please.’

What they brought Edward didn’t taste like tea. There was a strong nutty flavour with a hint of sweetness like honey. Edward had several sips before deciding he liked it.

The Alderman said a few words to Mr Thiflas and the latter hurried out of the room. When he returned, he was joined by two people, an aging man with a short beard and receding hair line and a younger woman in her 30s dressed in simple long robe.

Alderman Atlerstan began to speak. He would stop occasionally to allow Rosna to translate for Edward.

‘We are all here today to establish the facts behind the events during the Great Summoning Ceremony on the twelfth day in the month of the Noble Cat.’

The Alderman preceded to introduce everyone present and briefly outline what had happened at the Heaven’s Gate. To Edward, the description of the shadow coming out of his mouth was horrifying. It must have showed as Kira leaned over to check he was ok. He nodded his head in reassurance.

The next to speak was Dean Gandwyn from the prestigious magic school, Galdminister. He was dressed like a monk, except for his fine, patterned cloak. He fiddled with some papers in his hand as he bowed to the Alderman.

‘Yesterday evening the Grand Office of Summoning in collaboration with the worthy teachers and students of Galdminister began the opening ceremonies of the great summoning...’

He spoke in the same manner for some time as he explained in detail the intricacies of summoning and the sequence of events. Rosna translated along with occasional input from Kira. Even so, Edward couldn’t follow the technical language. He tried to ask questions, but the Alderman held his hand up to signal quiet.

‘As we know the fifth summoned arrived in an agitated manner, seemingly unaware of his whereabouts or how he came to be summoned. Before this, our mages detected serious disruptions to the magic connection to Earth. The drain of magic was high. The strain on the mages was telling and consideration was given to abandoning the ceremony. Before a decision could be made, the magic fluctuations ceased and the fifth summoned arrived with no more difficulty.’

‘Thank you, Dean for the thorough and informative summary.’ Alderman Atlerstan said. ‘Have you had an opportunity to come to any preliminary conclusions?’

‘Yes, Alderman Atlerstan, sir.’ Dean Gandwyn rummaged through some more for his notes on the table, dropping some on the floor. ‘Sorry, just a moment. Yes. Our investigations found no error with the summoning from the Heaven’s Gate end of the magic connection. Any issues must have therefore arisen at the magic circle located on Earth.’

‘Thank you. Any questions? No?’

Kira stood up to address the Adlerman. ‘Alderman, please wait, I need to speak with Edward. He is unfamiliar with how magic works. He needs time to understand.’

Thiflas spoke in his master’s steed. ‘Apologies to Mr Edward Staithe and to you, Captain, but the people in this room are very busy. We have already had to extend the length of the meeting to accommodate translation for Mr Staithe. Any more delays would be most inappropriate. Next, we welcome Lady Stefny, the Keeper of the Great Hall.’

Kira sat back down as Rosna translated Thiflas’ response. She asked Edward if he was following along.

‘I don’t understand all the bits about magic, but I think they are saying that there was nothing wrong at their end, meaning the issue was on Earth.’

Edward had a sinking feeling. He had worked in the corporate world for almost ten years and had a knack for reading between the lines. This meeting aimed to absolve themselves of any blame.

The Lady Stefny, stood up, her back straight and her fingers interlinked in front of her. She calmly and quietly began to speak. ‘It would be wrong for me, a humble servant to speak for the Twelve Great Guardians. Their designs are not for me to understand. I can say with absolute certainty that the Guardians do not err. Mistakes belong to man and man alone.’

Edward lent over to Kira and asked, ‘who are these guardians?’

‘They are the protectors of the Imperium and all humanity,’ Kira whispered. ‘They are said to choose the candidates for summoning.’

They sound like some gods or mystical creatures to me. Is it just another way to avoid responsibility? It wasn’t us; it was our gods.

‘Thank you to our two guests,’ Alderman Atlestan said. ‘Finally, Thiflas will read testimony from the summoned himself.’

Thiflas recounted what Edward had told Kira the night before about what he remembered from the summoning; about the man and about the voice.

Edward listened in disbelief to his own words replayed. He turned to Kira, ‘you told them!’

Kira tried to explain, ‘no, but the High Office had men listening in.’

‘You didn’t tell me that though did you.’

‘Quiet!’ Alderman Atlerstan demanded. ‘From what we have heard today, we can infer that the summoning was going as planned. This other man that Mr Staithe encountered must have been the intended summoned, but Mr Staithe’s presence interfered with the ritual as intended. We can only conclude that the events were the result of an unfortunate accident.’

Edward bled as he dug his fingernails into the wood of the table. ‘Are you blaming me for this?’ He said, breathing hard.

‘There is no one at fault here. By your trying to help another person, a tragic accident occurred. It was noble, if not misguided.’ Atlestan said. ‘Such an act deserves respect. We will help readjust and build your life in this world.’

Edward interrupted before Rosna could finish translating. ‘You will take my own life from me!’ Edward spat out. The room grew hotter. Small pin pricks of fire filled the air behind Edward and grew. They became balls of raging flame, flickering red and yellow.

Edward wanted them all to burn, even Kira who was trying to urge him to calm down. Chairs slid against wooden floors. Bodies tried to take cover as voices were raised, and the Dean tried to conjure a sputtering water spell. A warm glow flickered across the room, dancing with the shadows as the fireballs grew even larger.

Only Atlestan sat still. He pulled out a wooden box, undid its latch and pulled out a metal pillar topped with a midnight-coloured stone. At the same time several armed men entered from the two doors leading into the room. ‘Now, Now, Mr Staithe, you have tried this before. We are ready for you this time.’

The fireballs shrank and the room cooled. Kira tried to reassure Edward, but she soon stopped, leaving the room in silence.

Edward shook off Kira’s hands from his arm. ‘I don’t want a comfortable life in this world I want to go home. This isn’t right.’

'Right? That’s for the strong to decide.’ Alderman Atlerstan retorted.

'Alderman, there must be something more we can do. For his children.’ Kira pleaded.

‘Impossible Captain. It takes 100 mages to summon just one otherworlder. They are drained and incapacitated for months. Deaths have even been known. To go against the flow of magic to a realm as lacking in magic as Earth, it would take 100 times as many mages to send him back. Should I expend half of our mages? For what gain and at what cost? We will be at the mercy of the demons and even the other human kingdoms.’

‘Ten years of service,’ Atlestan added, ‘Fight for our army for ten years, help push back the demons and take back more land for the Imperium. If you do that then we can then revisit the idea of sending you home.’

In ten years, Thomas would be fifteen and Claire twelve. Edward would miss almost all of their childhood. ‘Ten years! I will miss so much. There must be something else I can do.'

'There is one thing, but it will not be easy.’

Edward clutched on to the bit of hope, ‘What is it?’

‘In the far north there is said to be a fortress, although no human has ever seen it. This fortress is meant to be the residence of the demon king. If you can breach that fortress and kill the demon king, then we may have a deal.’

‘That is a good as asking him to die!’ Kira said. ‘Edward, don’t agree to this. It is an impossible task.’

Edward felt like an animal cornered, but he couldn't say no. ‘If I do this, if I kill this demon king, I can go home?’

‘You have my word.’ Atlestan said.

*

Later that day, Atlestan’s secretary, Thiflas was tidying away some books in the Alderman’s office. He turned to Atlestan and asked, ‘Alderman, do you think he will really try to kill the demon king?'

'Almost certainly.' Atlestan replied without turning away from his work.

'He cannot think he can actually do it?'

‘It doesn’t matter. Either he manages to do the seemingly impossible and kill the demon king, or he
dies in the attempt.’ Atlestan scribbled notes in the book. ‘Both options are acceptable.’

After a short pause, he added, ‘preferably both.’