Victor of Tucson

Book 10: Chapter 2: Venting

2 – Venting

Victor flipped through the tome he’d come to think of as his “elder magic book,” amazed at the progress he’d made in the last few months. Azforath’s spell patterns and notes took up the first few pages, but the next nearly two hundred were filled with his notes from the texts Dar had given him and then his own patterns, pieces of patterns, and further notes on what he’d learned in his experiments and lessons with Tes. He only wrote something into his “elder magic book” when it was perfected after hundreds or thousands of iterations on loose pages that Victor was careful to destroy as he made improvements.

“Quite a lot of good work you’ve done. Yet...” Tes trailed off, letting Victor fill in the rest of the sentence—probably something like, “Yet, you’ve not put any of those spells into practice.” It was a regular discussion between them. Tes was certain the veil walkers overseeing Ruhn would take note if he started working elder magic because the System would step in and issue a bunch of warnings, just as it had when he’d altered his spell for summoning his totems.

There wasn’t anything wrong with doing so, not unless you worshipped the System as a deity, and that didn’t appear to be prevalent on Ruhn and certainly not among the veil walkers. No, the concern was that the veil walkers who had hidden allegiances to the great houses might spy from a distance and report what they learned about Victor’s talents to potential enemies. For the same reason, Victor refused to use abilities he’d yet to display in the arena when practicing. As much as it pained him, he’d even refused to try out his Flight of the Lava King.

“Yet secrecy is paramount, and you refuse to shield us from prying eyes.” Victor cocked an eyebrow at Tes, wondering if she’d argue.

“I wouldn’t be welcome on this world if they knew who I was, Victor. I can mask our conversations, but to block out the use of elder magic would be to tip my hand. Such a shielding would, in itself, be as much of a signal as if you employed your new spell patterns.”

Victor snorted, closing his book with a thud. “Just making sure you remember why these are untested because it felt an awful lot like you were judging me.”

“I’m not! I’m simply...complaining. Can a woman not vent?”

“Nah, I get it. I’m frustrated, too. I almost hope I’m forced to use one of my new spells when I fight Bandia’s champions. Then, the cat will be out of the bag, and I can start practicing all of these.” Again, he held the book up.

“Well, that’s why I was teasing you ever so slightly. I feel as though experimenting with new spells in the middle of a fight has the potential for disaster. Better to practice now and let the cards fall where they may if you ask me.”

Victor sighed. This was what he’d been hoping to head off by reminding her why he was being cautious. They went round and round in circles like this every time the topic came up. The thing that worried him was that Tes didn’t always take that side of the argument. Often, she’d be the one pressing for caution. Victor decided to give her a taste of her medicine. “Yeah, you know what? You’re right. I’m going to go ahead and try some of these new patterns out. Might as well get used to them.”

“Victor—” Tes started but stopped, narrowing her eyes at him as he stood and walked toward the balcony.

“Yeah. Figure I’ll test out these damn wings while I’m at it.” Stepping out through the open door, he employed the strange, comfortable pathway that pulled Energy out of his Breath Core and into his feat—Flight of the Lava King. It was so natural and easy that Victor could almost believe he’d had the ability his entire life. He honestly couldn’t remember what it had been like to not be able to do it. Such was the way with abilities his titanic bloodline allowed him to absorb; it was a part of him now.

As fire erupted from between his shoulder blades, Tes groaned, and he felt her magical veil spread to encompass the balcony, hiding his fiery, magma-dripping wings from prying eyes. Victor turned, careful not to burn the furniture on the balcony, and arched an eyebrow. “What?”

“I notice you called my bluff with an ability that won’t draw the System’s ire or signal the veil walkers.”

Victor shrugged, pulling his Energy back and causing his wings to flicker and fade. The little pools of lava he’d created sizzled and popped, rapidly cooling on the cold marble tiles. He stepped back inside. “I just wish...” he trailed off, folding his arms over his chest, tired of rehashing the same frustrations over and over.

“You could be yourself? Free? Unfettered?” Tes stepped closer to him. She wore one of her breezy flowing knee-length dresses, this one layered in shades of pale pink and lavender. Like Victor, she didn’t seem bothered by cold weather. When she rested one of her slender pale hands on his wrist, an electric tingle ran through Victor, and he had to use every ounce of his prodigious will to keep his face neutral. “I play devil’s advocate, but you know what I really think, don’t you?”

“Yeah, of course. You agree with Dar and pretty much any military strategist ever: keeping my capabilities obscured is better for my long-term survival.”

“Yes. Now, regarding the upcoming challenge—do you really think you’ll need one of the newer spell revisions we’ve been working on?”

“To beat a couple of iron rankers? I doubt it. I might need to play one of my other cards, though.”

Tes squeezed his wrist and gave a quick, almost imperceptible nod. “And how are you feeling about all that? You haven’t told me much about your conversation with the queen.”

Victor sighed, shaking his head. “I’m fine. I’d rather fight two versus one than beat the shit out of one poor guy.”

“That hubris is going to get you in trouble someday. Not all iron rankers, as the people in these parts call them, are created equal.”

Victor nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t mean it that way. I just don’t like fighting people weaker than myself, and it sounds like that’s going to happen.”

Mischief entered Tes’s eyes. “Would you like me to bind part of your potential?”

“Huh?”

“Just as your Energy and potential are reduced when you use the Alter Self spell to make yourself smaller, there are other ways to tie up that power. You can cancel your Alter Self, but if you allowed me to bind your power away, you’d be forced to make do with what you had.” She slid her fingers away from his wrist to the meat of his forearm and firmly squeezed the muscle there. “Would you enjoy that?” ????ᴀΝоꞖЕS̈

Victor looked into her eyes, sky-blue in the current lighting, and narrowed his brows. “Are you being serious?”

“Not really. I’d be beside myself with grief if you died trying to prove some kind of point—trying to hold yourself to a standard no one else adheres to.”

“Yeah. I guess it would be dumb to risk everything just so I could feel less guilty about winning.”

Tes’s eyes glittered with amusement. “I’ve missed your brand of vernacular, though I feel you’ve improved your vocabulary significantly since Coloss.”

“So...” Victor frowned, feeling a trickle of rage seeping into his pathways. “So there are stages beyond veil walker!”

“Come, Victor! You’ve met more than one.” Again, she nodded to the mountain, but then she surprised him. “And the pretty insect queen you met? What did you name her? Crystal?”

“When did you hear—”

“My first night here, silly! You should be careful when a dragon comes bearing alcohol.”

Vague memories flashed through Victor’s mind—Tes, red-faced and laughing; him bemoaning the state of his heart and his frustrating, recurring desire to drop everything and find Valla; and a hundred other, frankly, embarrassing moments. “Ah, yeah. Right.”

“So,” Tes said, sliding her hand down his forearm so she could entwine her fingers with his. “You’ve done a good job avoiding my earlier question.”

“About?” Victor knew but wanted to make her ask.

“Your meeting with the queen. How are things there? She’s awfully suspicious of me, or at least that was the impression I got at our one and only meeting.”

Victor knew what she was fishing for: he’d definitely confessed his frustrations with Kynna’s advances and his rather surly response to her. He’d been worried that the queen was angry with him, and he’d made the mistake of telling all of that to Tes—damn her potent liquor! “She’s still a little cool with me if that’s what you mean. I’m pretty sure she thinks I’ve got something going with you or Bryn or even Arona.”

Tes squeezed his hand. “So many options.”

“My friends aren’t options, Tes, they’re people.”

She let go of his hand and turned to face him, leaning sideways against the railing. “Oof! So serious! Should I leave you to brood?”

“Nah, I’ll try to lighten up. I’ve got five days before the duel. I’m going to try not to think about it.”

“Is that the right strategy?”

“Probably not, but I can’t cast any of the new spells or refinements you and I have worked out—not without pissing off the System and getting a bunch of nosy veil walkers around here, so—”

Tes held up a hand, laughing. “Please! Let’s not rehash that conversation. No, I might have another idea for you, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, it might get me into some trouble with the Celestial Envoys, but what if we took a small trip? What if I opened a gateway to that little world where you conquered the, um, what was it? Untamed—”

“You can do that?” Victor turned and grabbed her shoulders, eliciting a laugh from her.

“I can! I have a powerful artifact on loan from my order, but we have to ensure I’m not interfering in any worldly affairs by using it. It’s just a visit, understood? We’ll not steal away any rulers of Ruhn, and you’ll return before your obligations to your queen, and when we go to Fanwath, you mustn’t get involved in any politics. In fact, we shouldn’t announce your arrival to your more...influential friends.”

“Like Rellia?”

“Precisely. Let’s go to your homestead and visit some of your loved ones and, while we’re there—”

Victor snapped his fingers. “I can try out some of the elder magic we came up with!”

Tes’s face was bright with pleasure, and Victor could see his excitement was making her happy. It reminded him that she didn’t owe him anything, and he ought to act a little more grateful to her. “I’m sorry, Tes!” he blurted. “I’m sorry I’ve been venting to you. You know you’re the only person here that I really trust, right?”

“How could I not? You’ve told me as much in a dozen different ways. Well? Shall we? You should arrange things with your people here and ensure you have a shared Farscribe with—”

“I have one with Bryn and also Kynna.”

“Go, then! Speak with Draj and Bryn; I’ll gather my things.” Tes had taken guest quarters beneath Victor’s in the same tower, and she’d made herself at home, changing out the furnishings and decorating with her own art, nicknacks, and curios. Unlike Victor, she enjoyed seeing all of her jewelry and clothing, which meant her belongings were all over her suite and not neatly stored away in a container like most of Victor’s. He only knew as much because Tes liked to cook and insisted he visit her quarters for lessons and meals several times a week.

Victor started for the door, suddenly full of purpose and excitement. “I’ll talk to Arona, too. She’ll want to stay with Trobban.”

“We’ll return the day before your duel, so we’ll only be gone for four days. I doubt anyone will even notice.”

“Yeah, but, as you said, we don’t want people to worry.”

“Wisely said, Your Grace,” she teased, following him toward the door. “Come to my quarters when you’re ready. I’ll prepare the portal diagram.”