Read Online Dead Letter by Benjamin Descovich - Free Book Online

book of pressed flowers. Out
of a small window, the moon was rising behind the Great Dividing
Range, its peaks forging a silhouette of daggers in the East. The
darkness did not usually bothere her, but she felt exposed in the
big city, like a lone chick in a strange nest.
    The hot
Calimskan night simmered at her thoughts, bubbling up her failures
in love and magic. She tried to make reach with Rix again,
focussing on her goal rather than cataloguing her inadequacies.
Kettna’s attention was pure and the telepathic divination was
executed precisely, yet irony slapped her in the face. For no
matter the quality of her spell, there was no answer to her call.
He felt closer, or was it just her desire for it to be so? Whether
he was close or not, he refused to offer any response, so she
terminated the spell.
    It
frustrated her that Rix would treat her so. Were all the sweet
words spoken before he left arranged only to appeal to her heart,
as a bouquet would light up her eyes? Kettna checked herself. The
doubt she dwelled in diminished her. How could she be strong enough
to protect the citizens of Calimska if she couldn’t defend her own
heart? She needed to fortify her resolve to find Rix and curb this
girlish neediness. There must be an explanation for his silence.
Was he truly dead or was he so far from Calimska that Kettna was as
good as dead to him? Did he sever their connection because her love
was inadequate or had she lost contact because her magic was now so
weak? The pendulum swung in her mind, wrapping her in a restless
sleep rocked by its grim oscillations.
    Kettna woke to the sound of creaking timber. It was past
midnight, for the slip of the moon had travelled far over the
Calimskan rooftops and filled her room with silver light. Footsteps
padded with slow deliberation up the staircase toward her door.
Each tread groaned a warning. Who was up at this hour? Kettna
fumbled through a few protective spells, none of which gave her
comfort should things turn sour. Her best defence was a surprise
attack. She decided on Grempinin’s
Shocker , a favourite of apprentices for
practical jokes. Kettna could manage a decent jolt if anyone
stormed the room to lay hands on her. But then what? Would she
wrestle them in her nightdress? The novice reached to the bottom of
her bag and removed the last mummified mana frog. A dose of mana
from this, and her spell repertoire expanded ten fold. She’d have
to be careful not to burn the building down, so flame spells were
out. Ice would be fine, acid perhaps, binding would be better. Best
not to kill when you could question. With the minor shock spell on
her lips, she listened intently. The creaking timbers progressed
toward her door and stopped.
    Kettna snuck to the door, treading only where she saw nails,
so the boards would keep quiet. She gripped the iron doorknob and
cast Grempinin’s Shocker. Her hand charged with energy and the iron drank
it up. Kettna waited for a yelp of pain from the other side, but
none came. Lanuille’s door across the hall opened and gave an
awkward squeak.
    Kettna
put her eye to the keyhole, and caught a glimpse of sky blue robes
before Lanuille’s door clicked shut again. What was her guardian up
to? Kettna listened. There was no other movement or strange voices
coming from outside. Lanuille was alone, but why was she up at such
odd hours? There was so much she didn’t know about the sorceress.
If only her father had introduced them before she boarded the
ferry. Her parents knew her too well. Kettna would have refused
such aid and caused a fuss if he had done so. It was also possible
that her father had no idea of Kettna’s guardian either. Lanuille’s
assignment might be all her mother’s doing. Kettna would have liked
to think it was because her mother was overprotective of her only
child. Though the real justification would be far from maternal
care. The Archmagus was protecting the Order, not her
daughter.
    Kettna
stuffed the mummified frog to the