Four

Ninos stepped into the peace guard headquarters with lead feet. He wanted to be absolutely anywhere else, but he also wanted answers. Closure. Something.

Approaching the desk, he smiled tentatively. "Hello, my name is Ninos Smithy. I was asked—"

"Of course," the woman said briskly, though with sympathy. Her eyes flicked to Sinn, but she only continued, "Through that door there, then the first one on the right. Sergeant Mell is waiting for you."

"Thank you."

He followed the directions and had barely stepped into the room when three peace guards swarmed him. "You don't have to do this," the tallest of the three said. "Sorry, I'm Sergeant Mell, I sent the letter informing you that the prisoner has asked to speak with you. As I said, though, you're under no obligation to indulge his request."

"I'm not indulging his needs, merely attending my own, but thank you," Ninos said, unable to muster even a polite smile. His nerves were frayed, between grief, hurt, and a life beyond the academy that he didn't know how to start.

"I'll be with you the whole time, and there is no way he can touch you, let alone hurt you."

Ninos almost said that was absurd because Kina would never hurt him—but he'd tried to do so much worse, hadn't he?

I still say you should let him rot like the carrion he is, too far gone even for the vultures to enjoy .

"You say that like ravens don't eat carrion when it suits them."

Sinn opinion on that was scathing and arrogant. I am no ordinary raven.

"You're not even an ordinary familiar, unless this is common for dark magic familiars."

There is nothing ordinary or common about me .

"Your modesty is your finest quality."

Thank you.

Ninos didn't roll his eyes, because someone watching them could easily misconstrue the reason, but it was close.

Sergeant Mell led them through a back door of the room they were in and then down a dark, narrow hallway that made him feel like he was the one in trouble. He unlocked a door with not one but two separate keys, then pushed it open and stepped inside. After a moment, he beckoned Ninos to follow.

The room was more brightly lit than he'd been expecting, like they didn't want anything lurking in the shadows. Well, probably they wanted to make it more difficult for the prisoner to hide anything. One wall was taken up almost entirely by a large mirror. He could not fathom how much that must have cost. What would happen if someone broke it?

Spelled against that. There are many spells in this room. No one goes in or out unless they have those bespelled keys on the sergeant's belt.

Fascinating.

In the middle of the room, strapped to a chair and chained to the floor, was Kina.

He was nothing at all like the Kina that Ninos had known for so long. This man was sweaty, grimy, and unkempt; his eyes were filled with contempt and a sneer Ninos had never seen before curved his mouth. "You came."

"You don't seem very happy about that."

"Just tired of Master Perfect still being Master Perfect."

Ninos stared in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"

"Always liked. Always the high scores. Always the favorite. The best marks. The best projects. Always so fucking perfect, but did you help anyone else? No, you expect everyone to be as perfect and wonderful as you, and never stop to think that some of us aren't!"

"I'm not perfect, what are you talking about?"

"He was failing his classes, wasn't going to be allowed to graduate, was very likely going to be expelled for failure to perform. He never should have been given a familiar, but we got there too little too late for that." Sergeant Mell sighed. "He killed Brandor for failing him, for lecturing him on his shortcomings, and of course on the hope that the tragedy would mean passing marks for everyone. Which he was right about.

"People like him always think they're too smart to get caught, but their arrogance gets them every time. Two murders in a little over a week? He was going to be caught. We were already close."

Ninos started to ask where his familiar was, but then stopped, not certain he really wanted to know.

Sealed away. It's perfectly fine, no harm or suffering.

"So he killed Professor Brandor to hide his grades…and me because I was perfect?"

"Jealousy and fear are some of the oldest motives in the world," Sergeant Mell said. "I wish I had something more for you, something grand or at least sympathetic that would make the situation more bearable. You are neither the first nor the last to be betrayed this way. It happens more often than you think, often enough we consider them 'mundane' murders in a way, though murder is never mundane. I am sorry. Did you have further questions for him?"

"Were we ever really friends?" Ninos asked, voice cracking. "I trusted you. I liked you. I wanted you to come home with me."

"So I could see you be the perfect, adored, good little obedient village boy? Please. I thought you'd give me an advantage, but you're too proper and dull to help anyone. Found my own ways, you were entirely useless. Easier to deal with than others."

"Cheat, you mean. I wouldn't help you cheat, so you found your own way to cheat off and steal from me, and I never noticed." Because he was apparently so stupid he missed the obvious for years.

Numbness washed over Ninos. Kina had never been his friend, had only stayed by his side all these years to use him, give himself an advantage. That was so much worse than some little upstart sneaking into his room to steal his work or destroy all his clothes. Ninos would have preferred that; there was a peculiar honesty in just being a thief and vandal.

"I'm done," he said quietly.

Mell nodded and led him from the room, locking it up tight before asking, "Is there anything I can do?"

"What will happen to him?"

"Murder is a capital offense. At best, he will be incarcerated for life, likely put to work at a mine or quarry. At worst, he will be executed. I'm sorry again for your pain and loss. Would you like me to walk you home?"

"No, no I've gotten pretty good at walking alone to my room the past few days," Ninos said bitterly. "Thank you anyway. Good day, Sergeant."

He didn't really remember the walk back to his room, only the silence. Even Sinn, who had an opinion on everything, was quiet.

In his room, he stared at the mess it had become, as he packed up the only life he'd ever known, preparing to send most of it ahead to his new house, with a few boxes that would then be taken on further to his parents' home.

He still could not reconcile he was leaving. He'd been in this life since he was five. Soon he would be home, achieving his goal of using magic to help his village. Nervousness was to be expected, anxiety about so much change so fast.

But he also should have been happy. Excited. Not filled with grief and hurt, not dreading what was going to go wrong next.

You cannot let the poor, selfish decisions of others dictate your life. No matter how cruel their decisions were. That is precisely what that backstabbing little water rat would want.

"I know," Ninos replied, subdued. "I just don't know what to do."

A knock at the door stalled Sinn's reply. On the other side, a student smiled blandly at him. "Headmaster wants to see you."

"On my way." What now? Ninos wasn't certain he wanted to know, but he would find out regardless.

Back in Wintry's office once more, he sat on the sofa across from him, refusing an offer of tea or food from his assistant. "What's wrong now?"

Wintry seemed sad looking him over. "Your familiar isn't right. I mean, you should have a sylvan familiar."

"Nothing to be done about it now," Ninos replied. Once conjured, that was it. There was no example of a familiar bond being broken without one or both dying. "We're…cooperating."

Sinn's amusement rolled through his mind, dry and sharp as ever.

"In all my years of this life, and there have been more than of them than I care to count, I have never heard of a mage-familiar mismatch. Then again, I've never heard of…everything else that happened. He was escorted to the royal capital today, by the way. You'll probably never see him again, which I'm sure is both agony and relief to you. I would say I'm sorry again, but at this point you're probably sick of hearing that."

"Thank you," Ninos replied. Whatever his ire, whatever his unhappiness, directing it at Wintry wouldn't be right. He had been patient, kind, and understanding throughout, and felt like the only person Ninos could trust anymore.

Wintry shifted in his seat, leaning slightly forward. "I think you should head to Shadowfell. If you are a sylvan with a dark familiar, I suspect that somewhere is a new dark mage with a sylvan familiar. Breaking the binding is not possible, but trading has certainly been done before, though it's exceedingly rare."

Ninos's brow furrowed. "Why would people trade familiars?"

"Lovers do it, sometimes. That's the most common reason. Doing so can create a much deeper connection amongst all four, allow forms of communication not possible without a spell that is only temporary. Colleagues have done it before, when working on projects that take them far afield and far from each other, to better keep in touch. Some do it while mastering multiple branches of magic. If you and Sinn want to be where you belong, this is your best chance. You can travel there on your own, or I can send a couple of guards with you. It will be dangerous, going north up into the mountains. Shadowfell rests on a cliff, looking down into a valley, and that is the least treacherous part of the whole matter."

"I'll go alone, thank you. I'm familiar enough with hard travel, and if I find myself outclassed, I'll hire a local to help me. I have the money to do that now," he added bitterly.

"All right. Here's a map for you, and a letter to give to the Seneschal of Shadowfell when you arrive. Should you need anything—I mean anything, Ninos, you've only to contact me and I will see it done, whatever it takes."

"Thank you," Ninos replied, nearly crying again. "You have been a comfort these last couple of weeks. I am grateful."

"Only doing as anyone should," Wintry said gruffly. "Let me know when you leave, I'll have some parting gifts for you, to help you on the journey. If you need help with outfitting yourself, let me know. I recommend Tarsok if you're going to buy a horse, he's reliable and won't try to scam you. He's on Green Street."

"Thank you. I'll probably leave in the next few days, as everything is ready for shipping and I've no reason to linger." Not anymore. Kina had been his best friend, and really, his only friend. He'd always put school first and had many acquaintances but no other friends. It had never bothered him before, but right then he could do with a real friend. Then again, who was to say any of them would have been real?

Clearly his trust in people had taken a blow.

Bidding Wintry farewell, he abandoned his other plans for the day—not that they'd been much—and swung by his room only to get the money he would need before signing out at the gate and heading into town.

Sinn pushed off his shoulder and flew into the sky, his caws carried along in the wind, fading away behind them. It seemed fitting, somehow, that his familiar could get so far away from him, to a place that Ninos would never be able to reach.

Always so gloomy, little human .

Why did Sinn always call him that? Did all familiars do that? "Sorry that one of the most important moments of my life instead turned into an attempted murder and, instead of a familiar that suits my magic, I get stuck with a raven more suited to blood and death."

That is oversimplifying what I do, but I take your point. Certainly, this is not what I expected.

"What did you expect?" Ninos asked as they neared the town gate and Sinn returned to his shoulder. "Did you have some sense of your mage?"

Sinn shifted on his shoulder, wings fluttering every so slightly, movements that seemed to indicate hesitation. I had a sense of mischief.

"Attempted murder felt like mischief?"

Wasn't referring to that. Not that kind of mischief. I mean a true sense of mischief, the kind that rests in the heart, is as part of a person as bone and blood. Some people carry joy in their hearts. Some carry a sadness that weighs them down their whole lives. Some carry anger, hot and destructive. I felt mischief, dormant but strong. It compelled me, and so here I am, I suppose.

"I didn't know familiars felt that kind of thing. Nothing I read and heard regarding familiars was anything like you."

I am unique, obviously. You should be grateful you have me on your shoulder, not some weak stag who jumps at every noise and then freezes in the midst of danger and dies for it.

"Deer can defend themselves just fine when the need is there. Not everything on earth is a fighter. I'm certainly not."

Maybe you just haven't been pushed that far yet.

"I think if I didn't start swinging the moment I saw Kina, there is no hope for me." He stopped in front of a stable that had a sign stating there were horses for sale. Stable on Green Street, just a short distance from the main boulevard. This must be the place.

He pushed through the main gate and looped around the building to the yard, where a tall, dark-skinned, imposing man was speaking with a couple of young men and a young woman. After a moment he sent them off and turned to Ninos. "May I help you?"

"Are you Tarsok? I'm in need of a horse, and Headmaster Wintry recommended you highly."

The man seemed pleased by that. "Did he now, the old codger? That's me. What kind of horse?"

"I'm going to be traveling up into the north mountains, and then eventually all the way down to Goldfell when my business there is finished."

Tarsok whistled. "That's quite the traveling. You should consider two horses, one for you, one for supplies and a backup in case something happens to the first horse. Might seem like a lot of extra work and cost, but you'll be grateful for all the additional supplies you'll be able to take with you, especially if something happens and you get waylaid out in the middle of nowhere."

He hadn't thought of that, probably never would have. Ordinarily, it wouldn't be an option, because one horse was expensive enough, never mind two. But the money Brandor had left him had been significant. Not a lavish fortune, but plenty respectable, and it wasn't like he needed it for anything. What was he going to do? Live in a mansion throwing lavish parties? He was, at the end of the day, the son of a seamstress and a blacksmith, fancy magic or not.

Anyway, after years in that town, filled with people who thought students were easy pickings, he knew the difference between honest advice and someone feeding him lines.

If only he'd been so smart about his supposed best friend.

Shoving the bitterness aside to torment him later when he was trying to sleep, Ninos said, "All right. Two horses, then, and their tack."

"You'll walk away happy, I promise. Anyone sent by Wintry will be treated as kin. Come this way." The man led him into the enormous stable behind the main building, through a series of turns that made him feel like he was in a maze, before finally coming to a stop in front of a pair of stalls. "Here we are. This is Strider," he pointed to a horse so completely and perfectly black it was like staring at a piece of night, then to the dappled gray in the next stall, "and this is Serenade. Strider is good for riding, and Serenade will carry whatever you give her and behave the whole time. She's a good girl. Strider is less well-behaved, but as long as you don't do anything stupid, he'll obey. What do you think?"

"They're beautiful," Ninos replied, utterly enchanted despite having never cared about horses for a day in his life. "Probably too good for the likes of me, but you wouldn't steer me wrong."

Tarkan smiled like the sun coming out. "Good. I'll get someone to get them ready, you and I can get settled up."

"Sounds good."

A short time later, Ninos was back on the street, his purse lighter and with two horses in hand. Sinn, somehow entirely predictably, had taken up position on Serenade's saddle. If his presence bothered her, she didn't show it, just nuzzled into Ninos hands for more petting and perhaps another apple like the one they'd been given just before taking their leave. "Comfortable?"

Very. I've never ridden a horse before, this is entertaining.

"Says the creature who can fly. All right, I guess we need travel supplies next. I can't wait to sleep on the ground for weeks on end. Hope nobody is expecting me to hunt because all I can hunt is berries."

You're a sylvan, I think you can do slightly better than berries. Some nuts, perhaps. Carrots?

"Wrong time of year for carrots, but we can probably still find wild onions. Come on, I think the shop we need is this way. Can't believe my graduation present to myself is horses and camp equipment."

Doing all of this alone was probably the wrong idea, certainly it would be more dangerous, but the idea of company… no, just absolutely not.

The shop he was thinking of was exactly where he remembered. Unfortunately, as he stepped inside, several pairs of eyes turned toward him, and he could see by the looks on their faces that they knew exactly who he was. Lovely.

Ignoring the stares, the whispers that rose up in his wake, he approached the counter, where a woman stared at him with wide eyes and an expression she didn't drop quickly enough. "Hello, I was hoping to buy some camping equipment. I'm going to be doing several weeks of travel and I want to make certain I'm well stocked."

"I can help with that," the woman said, licking her lips as she circled the counter and led him to a rack of pots, pans, and the like. She pointed to a particularly shiny set. "This set here is our best—"

Lie

Sinn said the word calmly, but with such cold, hard certainty that Ninos almost missed the rest of the woman's rambling. "I see," he said, and looked over the other options.

That one, Sinn said, then hopped off his shoulder to land on a narrow bit of clear space on the shelf and nudged at a pot far less interesting looking. It reminded Ninos of his mother's trusty soup pot, dinged and worn from decades of use but still reliable.

"We'll take that one," Ninos said, and the woman seemed to wilt a bit, but the rest of the venture went much more smoothly, with her no longer trying to convince him to buy flashy stuff rather than sensible, and Sinn offering plenty of input of his own.

How does a familiar know so much about camping?

It's my duty to assist you, isn't it? Even if you'd rather prance around a wheatfield than do anything interesting.

Yes, how dare I want to make certain people never go hungry.

Necessary and interesting seldom go hand in hand.

That's not true. You just think anything short of a blood sacrifice is boring. Hardly a reliable measure.

Sinn cawed his peculiar little laugh at that.

When that shopping was complete and packed on the horses to take back to his room to sort properly later, he headed on to the next chore, which was clothes, and after that there would be food and whatever else he thought of in the meantime.

Maybe he was going overboard, but after all that had happened lately, ensuring he traveled in relative comfort didn't seem so great an indulgence. Anyway, who was there to criticize his spending? No one. Because his only friend was going to be worked to death or straight executed for trying to kill him.

So he'd buy whatever he wanted, and if anyone tried to tell him otherwise, he'd tell Sinn to peck their eyes out.

That's the spirit .

Smiling despite himself, Ninos headed for the next shop.