Ser Edwin!” James raised the practice blade to a ready stance, his voice cracking with the panic he felt.
Ser Edwin burst from the house with a hooded lantern in hand. The light shone bright across the small yard. The figure walked a few more steps towards the light, raising their arms to shield their eyes from it. Red hair caught the light from under the hood as the figure collapsed.
“Max!” James yelled, tossing the blade to the side and running to his friend. “Max, what happened? Max.”
Ser Edwin was there a beat after James, his strong arms scooping the broken boy’s body in a fluid motion. James couldn''t tell the look in Ser Edwin''s eyes, there was something there, was it doubt? The older man only paused for a moment before taking the boy towards the house.
“James, fetch Miss Silvia. Better hurry—your friend is in rough shape.” James lingered, his feet not wanting to move.
I did this, I caused this, it was the Master. He couldn''t hurt me, so he hurt Max.
“Boy! Now, you can waste time on what-ifs if we save your friend''s life—now move!” Ser Edwin''s eyes were furious, a look James had never seen. No longer frozen in place, he moved his feet, running before his brain could catch up.
The road was dark, the only light that of a crescent moon, barely piercing the canopy of trees. James’s mind whirled as his body ran.
I did this, I hurt Max, I shouldn''t have left. I shouldn''t have been so happy.
“James, what are you doing here, dearie?” Miss Silvia’s voice cut through the panicked thoughts. Her frame outlined in the doorway, Scratch circling her feet, the cat’s tail twitching back and forth.
“Max is hurt. I think I got him killed.” The tears streamed down his face for the second time that day. His voice cracked on every word. “He showed up, he''s all bloody, and his fingers…”
“Take me to him,” was all Miss Silvia said, grabbing her bag for the second time in the same amount of days.
The frantic walk back was a blur. James pulled at all his willpower to stop the tears, to hold the thoughts at bay, until Max was safe. Miss Silvia stopped at the door as James opened it, rushing in. A look of confusion crossed his face.
“I must be invited in.”
“Get in here, you old crone!” The bark was more order than invitation. Silvia slowly brought her foot across the threshold, then pushed James out of the way.
Ser Edwin had pushed the small table and stools to the side and laid Max down in front of the fire. Blood covered the boy’s clothes. One eye was black and swollen to the size of an orange. Dried blood ran down his cheek from his hairline and seemed to cover most of his face. One of his arms bent the wrong way above the wrist, and at least every finger James could see was bent oddly.
“Can you fix him so soon after patching up James from the fall?” Ser Edwin''s voice was flat. There was a controlled evenness to it. Ser Edwin''s gaze did not waver from Max’s face.
“I can fix the hand, the head wound. The arm will have to heal on its own, as well as the bruised ribs and other spots.” Silvia had knelt next to Max, her hand lightly on his head. “I won''t be in any state to get home though.”
“You can sleep in my bed, I have a feeling I won''t need it tonight.” The evenness was cold, detached. The spark James had seen growing in Ser Edwin’s gaze was gone. Silvia put her free hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly. They met eyes for a moment, and James got the feeling that there was some unspoken conversation between them. Ser Edwin''s shoulders sagged then, like air let out of a festival balloon. “You’re right. I’m needed here. We will let you work.”
Miss Silvia removed several small objects from her bag and began setting them up around Max. James felt the shove more than saw it. Edwin had positioned himself between James and Max. His bulky frame blocked the other boy from James’s view.
“Upstairs now.” Ser Edwin crossed his arms, clearly not moving, no matter how James tried to peek around him. The slap was so quick and hard it nearly sent James to the floor, his face stinging from the force. “Now. This is not something boys should see.”
James thought about trying his luck one more time as the light in the room began to dance and flicker. But Edwin’s raised hand said clearly he would not like the results of that. Slowly, James backed up to the ladder and climbed up to his room. As he climbed, he saw something his mind would replay over and over until the blackness of exhaustion finally claimed him.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Miss Silvia’s face was all wrong over Ser Edwin''s shoulder, the skin had been grey and pulled tight against her face, her raven hair colorless and brittle. She had seemed in pain, her head tossed back and mouth open wide in a silent scream.
The next morning, he came awake to the events of the night before springing to life in his mind. James all but fell down the ladder to the sound of laughter and clanking of plates. Ser Edwin and Miss Silvia sat over the small table, bowls of oats forgotten and smiles on their faces.
“You know you are supposed to climb down the ladder,” Miss Silvia said, taking a drink from a small glass cup. The color had returned to her face, and her hair was thick and dark once more, but James swore there were more lines around her eyes and the corners of her mouth. “You are staring, James. Some women might find that rude.”
“Give it a rest, Sil. He must be nervous for his friend. Come eat before the oats get cold.” Ser Edwin scooted his stool a bit closer to Miss Silvia, leaving enough room for another stool at the table.
“Max is fine, he’s sleeping it off in the forge. I didn''t have another bed here, so I put him out there in my hammock. Here, take a bowl to him.”
James all but bolted from the room, a bowl of oats in each hand, the sound of laughter chasing after him. Sure enough, Max sat on the hammock slung neatly off in a corner. Despite the fire not being lit, the forge was still rather warm. Slowly, his feet grew heavy, and his gaze plummeted to the floor.
“Heya, Max. I uh, got breakfast.”James held out the bowl to his friend. Max tried to reach for it with his broken arm, but it was bound against his chest to keep from moving. Clumsy Max took the bowl with his left.
“Tanks,” was all Max could muster, awkwardly trying to hold the bowl and eat with his left hand. “Sorry I scared ya last night.”
“What, I wasn’t scared. I, I, I wasn’t scared.” James said, pushing down the guilt he felt.
“Ha, ya were totally scared. Ser Edwin help!” Max pitched his voice high and raised his free arm, nearly spilling the oats.
“I was not.” James sat down on the hammock next to his friend. “What even happened, Max?”
“Eh, be honest, I don’t remember much. Da older boys, da ones about to graduate, dey say da Master wanted to see me. So I followed dem down to da basement. Next thing I knew, there was a bag on me head, and one of dem said da Master was disappointed in me and that dey were to make sure I understood. Then it all was kinda a blur. Till I get outta there, and I’m walking the road here. I can’t tell ya why I knew to come here; I just did.”
Max scratched at his head, the bowl of oats finally falling to the ground. Both boys just looked at it, horrified, then started laughing.
“Guess a part of you knew you’d be safe here,” James said, wiping tears from his eyes.
“Guess so. I think part of me knew ya always had my back.” Max elbowed James, causing the hammock to rock and James’s bowl to fall to the ground next to Max’s, and another round of laughter.“Guess we betta clean dis up.”
“Probably. I don’t think Ser Edwin would want rats in the forge.”James said, hearing a commotion outside the forge. Both boys jumped up and made their way to the closest set of forge doors, the spilled oats left behind, forgotten.
“You are allowed one apprentice, Ser Edwin. Per our deal, you got James. Max is to return with me to the school, where he can complete his training and join the Imperium like the rest of the teens. It is his duty.”
The Master stood nearly toe to toe with Ser Edwin, his sky-blue coat flapping in the morning breeze. The Master, a whole head shorter than Ser Edwin, jabbed the larger man’s chest with his finger, emphasizing each word.
“The Imperium demands sacrifice, and it is our honor to provide it.”
“If you don''t take a step back and stop poking me, I''ll break that finger, sir.” Ser Edwin pulled himself up to his full height, his thick arms held tight against the sides of his body. The look he gave the Master was what James’s teachers had called the killing gaze. A single determined look of detached emotion. Miss Silvia pushed her way between the two men.
“Now we cannot be breaking agreements, gentlemen, it would be unwise for us to do so.” Miss Silvia turned, putting her back to Ser Edwin and fully facing the Master. “I would like to take Max as my apprentice. The boy has shown promise the last two days…”
“Shut your mouth, witch! I will not hear a word you have to say.” The Master tried to push Miss Silvia out of the way.
Smack.
The sound was like thunder. James had thought Ser Edwin''s smack on him had been hard, but this left no doubt in his mind Ser Edwin had held back. The Master’s head barely moved, but when Ser Edwin had pulled his hand back, there was a large red patch visible even from where the boys watched.
“That was unwise, blacksmith. Fine, keep the boy, consort with the witch, I will be back.” With that, the Master turned with a flourish of his coat and stormed back up the road.
Nobody moved for a long moment. Ser Edwin''s hand still held out, he looked at it as though he had never seen it before.
Miss Silvia hugged him. It was only for a moment before she pulled back and straightened her clothes.
Ser Edwin moved then, slowly lowering his arm the rest of the way and resting a hand on her shoulder.
“Come on out, boys,” he said, rhythm returning to his voice, and the spark returning to his eyes. James and Max slowly made their way to the adults, their feet shuffled along the ground.
“I hope I don’t get ya in trouble, Ser Edwin.” Max’s eyes were firmly searching Ser Edwin’s boots for something.
“I can go back to the Master, Ser Edwin. I don''t want him to hurt the other kids.” James heard the pleading in his voice, even though he tried to hide it. “It’s been a dream being here with you, but I can’t…”
“None of that. Get the fire going, we got work to do. I''m going to walk Miss Silvia back to her place. By the time I get back, I want that fire to be roaring and the metal to be heating up. Do it right or I''ll take it out on you at sword-work this afternoon.” The gruffness was back, and his tone left no words for argument as he and Miss Silvia walked away.
“Ya know how to start da forge?” Max asked.
“No. But I think we better figure it out.”