Read Online Shadows by E. C. Blake - Free Book Online

world, Aygrima has magic.”
    He doesn’t know I have the Gift
, Mara reminded herself. She glanced again at Tishka. The red-haired woman’s gaze had sharpened; her eyes, bright in the lamplight, focused on Mara like a hawk’s.
Nor am I allowed to tell him.
    â€œYou don’t have magic in Korellia?” she said instead.
    He shook his head. “No. But we know of it from our own histories, which clearly are more complete than yours. Once upon a time the ships of Aygrima traveled the world, their holds filled with urns of magic, their Healers and Engineers in great demand. They were welcomed everywhere . . . but also resented; and when the plague broke out, there were some who claimed it wasn’t natural, that it had been created and unleashed via dark magic, concocted by the evil mages of Aygrima. Aygrima’s ships were seized and sunk. Not surprisingly, soon enough they stopped coming. Many of our people now believe, as yours do of Korellia, that Aygrima never really existed, and that the magicians of Aygrima are mere fairy tales. Indeed, they’ve become just that, featuring in fantastical stories told all over the islands. There’s a particularly popular musical play you’d probably enjoy.” He grinned. “Maybe I’ll have the chance to take you to see it someday.”
    Mara digested all that for a moment. “You’re lucky you found us first,” she said at last. “If you had appeared in any other village, not wearing Masks, the Watchers would not have welcomed you.”
    â€œSo I have been told,” Chell said. He shook his head. “The Masks sound evil.”
    â€œThey are,” Mara said flatly. “But not as evil as the Autarch who commands them to be made and worn.”
    â€œAnd that,” Chell said, “is why I am going to accompany you to Tamita. To see this evil for myself.”
    â€œWhy?” Mara said. “You know it will be dangerous.”
For all of us
, she added silently to herself.
Keltan and I can at least pass for unMasked children, but you . . .
    â€œI have told Catilla,” Chell said carefully, “that Korellia might be willing to aid the unMasked Army in its effort to . . . improve the political situation in Aygrima.”
    Mara’s eyes widened. “You’d fight for us? Against the Autarch?”
    Chell held up his hands. “I cannot make such a commitment,” he said. “I do not have that authority. But I
do
have authority to open diplomatic channels with the peoples I encounter, and the autonomy to decide with whom our initial discussions should be conducted.”
    Mara stared at him, startled.
He looks about twenty
, she thought.
And he has that much authority?
    They must do things differently in Korellia.
    â€œAssuming what I see in Tamita confirms what I have been told here,” Chell went on, “then I think I am right to say it is far more likely Korellia will side with the unMasked Army than with the Autarch.” He made a face. “We overthrew a tyrant of our own once. We have little stomach for the tyranny of others.”
    â€œThat would be . . . wonderful,” Mara breathed.
An ally against the Autarch! An ally with seagoing ships, weapons . . .
    ...facing magic?
She felt her first qualm. What could the Autarch do with all the magic at his disposal if faced with an enemy from the sea?
    She had her own memory of an explosion contained, a glass-walled crater, and a towering pillar of flame and smoke to hint at the power that could potentially be unleashed in defense of the Autarch. Could the Korellians really face
that
?
    â€œBut I cannot make any recommendations until I have scouted further,” Chell continued. “And reported back to my ship.” He cocked his head. “So what do you say, Mara? Will you permit me to accompany you?”
    She snorted. “You don’t need
my
permission. Unlike