* * * * * * * * *
Teryn woke several hours later to the sound of a shrill voice screaming out in pain. The noise reverberated in his skull, seemingly coming from inside and outside his head at the same time. He jumped up off the couch and scanned his surroundings. No one was there. Everything around him was cold and dark. He took a quick look outside to see more of the same. A brief look at the moons told him it was around one in the morning. Everyone around him was sound asleep.
“Must have been a bad dream,” Teryn muttered.
He rubbed his eyes and settled back down on his couch. Briefly, he wondered why Valeria had not stopped by as she had promised. He grew worried, but assured himself that the meeting with the Guild leaders probably took longer than expected and she most likely went straight to bed after rather than risk being caught out after curfew. He made a mental note to swing by her dorm and ask her about it before work the next day, then laid back down on his couch.
Just as he started to drift off, the scream came again, louder this time. Once again, he jumped up and looked frantically around. The world around him remained still. No one else had moved.
Surely, if the scream had been real, someone else would have heard it, right?
Still, he wasn’t completely convinced. He did live among wizards, after all. It could be some sort of elaborate illusion spell or prank gone wrong. He muttered a few syllables under his breath and cast a showme spell, hoping to sniff out any magical signatures from lingering spells in the vicinity. But, even with his magically-enhanced gaze, he found nothing of note. Satisfied at last, he laid down again and drifted off to sleep, hopeful for no further interruptions. This time, there were none.
* * * * * * * * *
Teryn woke up again several hours later to the sunlight peering through cracks in his windows. “Blast it all!” he exclaimed. He had overslept his alarm. That was a first for him. Briefly, he thought about the strange screams that had woken him the night before. He wondered again where they’d come from and what purpose they served. If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn that the screams were female in origin.
He yawned and stared at the clock on his wall, then cursed whatever illusion mage must have been out late last night pranking people. “That must be it,” he reasoned. “It must have been some sort of elaborate prank.”
Besides, he didn’t have time to worry about it right now. The perpetrator would be found and punished, and if he wanted to avoid punishment of his own, he was going to have to hurry.
Feeling semi-convinced, he struggled to get up and put on fresh clothes as fast as he could. He glanced at his magic clock to see how late he was going to be. He frowned at the overly ornate device. The hour wasn’t late enough for him to get into deep trouble, but he wouldn’t have any time to stop off and meet with Valeria before work, either.
Oh well, I’ll just ask her about last night’s meeting at our usual spot after work today.
Quickly, he finished getting dressed, popped a muffin in his mouth to stave off his morning hunger pains, and raced off to work.
When he got to work, they told him they were short-staffed, and he would have to do double his normal load. He sighed. It was going to be a long day. As he went about his tasks, his thoughts stayed with Valeria. He wondered how her meeting had gone and how she was holding up. He was worried about her, but even if she was getting transferred, it wouldn’t be right away. Surely they’d have at least another couple days together, right?
As if in response, a little voice in his head told him everything would be just fine.
Chapter TwoThe Guild Council
“And this great leader shall face many trials
And none shall believe him
Though he speaketh the truth.”
Book of Gallian, 12:4.
Year 4999 (Present day)
Everything is most definitely not fine, Teryn thought later that evening.
He hadn’t seen Valeria once all day at work. It wasn’t unusual for them to have different assignments or to work in other areas, but even then, they’d always meet up for at least one break and eat lunch together. Yet Valeria wasn’t in any of their usual spots. Teryn’s first thought was that she had already been transferred, but his few friends at work had assured him that wasn’t the case. She was most likely feeling under the weather, they’d assured him. So, he bided his time at work, barely able to focus but not able to leave early without looking suspicious and resolved to go to her dorm right after work to check on her. It was risky going to a female’s dorm without a reason, but he had to know the truth.
However, when he got there, her dorm mates told him that she wasn’t there. In fact, she had never even come back the previous night. They seemed quite surprised to learn that Teryn didn’t know where she was either – apparently, they’d assumed she was with him. If only, he thought, then just as quickly banished the thought from his mind.
He made one more stop after that – the Blue Library. As he walked, his mind strayed to the last story they’d read together there. About Sage Gallian leading the defense in the War of the Sages. It was full of tales of fantastical beasts, deadly enemies, and all the combat a guy like Teryn could possibly want.
But he pushed those thoughts from his mind. He didn’t have any time to think about that now. He raced to the Blue Library as fast as his feet would carry him and pushed through both doors. Once inside, he
