Above the Law: A Short Story

Irea crouched behind the nearest boulder and pressed her hand to her heart. She couldn't run any more. After three days of evading the Kerni, strangers from across the sea who began invading Senth a year ago, Irea knew she was outnumbered. For several months she lived among the Kerni, and feigned allegiance, while gathering information which she reported to her Queen in Res, the capital of Senth. Four nights ago, the Kerni intercepted her messenger. Irea supposed the Kerni must have tortured the poor girl, who revealed all but Irea's name.

Unfortunately, not many people of Senth had one blue eye and one green eye. The Kerni discovered her quickly, but not before she overheard some of their soldiers discussing the capture and torture of her messenger. She used a temporary blinding spell to gain her freedom, and slipped past the Kerni soldiers into the wild. However, Irea's magic wasn't particularly strong, and she was only able to use it every few days. Originally, an older, more experienced mage accompanied her, but Erti died not more than a fortnight ago when the ground shook and opened. Such deaths, though saddening, weren't uncommon in Senth.

Irea's blinding spell worked best in darkness. Her only other magic consisted of healing spells and, though the Senth Mages didn't learn how to fly until they were at least twenty-five years old, Irea managed to convince Erti to at least tell her about the spell, despite the fact that she was only twenty-three.

"She's got to be around here somewhere." The Kerni soldiers walked into the valley where Irea's footsteps led. "Spread out; nowhere for her to hide except behind a rock."

Irea held her breath. The flying spell was her only chance to escape. Kerni soldiers fought hand-to-hand combat, and sometimes used knives and daggers, but they weren't archers. Their magical ability centered on the ability to create illusions; in fact, Irea once fell into one of their spells, and nearly revealed Senth's plans for defense. Erti managed to pull her out of that illusion with a spell Irea never even heard of. If she were caught now, she knew the Kerni would attempt to use an illusion against her.

After Erti's death, Irea requested that the Queen send another Elder Mage to assist her, however, that was the message the Kerni intercepted. On her own, she was no match for the Kerni, and only convinced them to leave her be with the excuse that she must mourn Erti in seclusion.

The Kerni drew closer to Irea's hiding spot; their boots were clad in chains and buckles, making their approach easily heard. Irea closed her eyes for a moment and jumped into the air, summoning the winds to carry her home to Res.

Though her spell worked, one of the Kerni grabbed onto her outer robes, tethering her to the ground by virtue of his size and strength. "I've got her! Quick, cast an illusion!"

Irea quickly shed her outer robes and soared away over the valley. She knew the Kerni needed either eye contact or a physical connection to manifest an illusion. She also knew they would follow her, but she'd them over the craggy and icy mountain range on her way home. 'I'm sorry, Erti,' she thought as she squinted into the morning sunlight, 'I know I promised to wait two years before flying...but you always said that Senth's safety is worth a little rule-breaking.'