Firesign 1 - Wage Slave Rebellion (30 page)

“I’ll look for a blanket or something,” said Gavi, pushing herself to her feet.

“I’ll help,” said Mazik, starting to rise.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Gavi as she waved him down. She walked over to the crates that filled most of the basement and opened one up. “You just rest. I’ve already gone through a bunch of these, so I think I know where to find one.”

A minute later, Gavi pulled a single quilt out of a box and held it up. “I could only find one.”

“That’s fine. We can share,” said Mazik, waving her over. “I promise I won’t try anything. I do have a girlfriend.”

“I know,” said Gavi. She sat back down and draped the dull checkered quilt over their shoulders. Their arms touched for a second before Gavi scooted away.

“Better?” asked Mazik.

“It is,” said Gavi.

They said nothing for a while. Then, a thought occurred to Mazik. “Wait. Where’s Rae?”

“After he finished dulling my wounds, he left to go find some guards.” Gavi’s heart was beating faster than she would have liked to admit. “Or a blacksmith. Whoever he finds first. You were asleep at the time, so he said he would come back and get us whenever he found someone.”

“So you stayed here to guard my sleeping butt?” said Mazik.

“Yup.”

The building above them creaked as its old wooden bones settled. In the distance they could hear the faint humming sound of the city that never slept, but here in the cellar it was just dark and dusty, light coming only from the few candles that Gavi and Raedren brought down while Mazik was asleep.

As the candle flames danced like maidens spinning at the height of a summer festival, Gavi wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin atop her knees. Mazik stared up at the ceiling. In this way, minutes passed.

“Hey,” said Gavi, softly.

“Hmm?”

“It’s kind of crazy, isn’t it? This whole thing.”

“This cellar thing, or the whole thing?” asked Mazik.

“The whole thing.”

Mazik nodded. “Yeah, it is. Who would have thought we’d be running for our lives from a bunch of murderous thugs?”

Gavi smiled. “But isn’t that what happens to you most days? At your day job, I mean.”

“Heh. Got me there,” said Mazik. He rolled his shoulders, his posture slipping lower as he relaxed. “At least with these guys I’m allowed to fight back. Apparently it would be a crime to punch a ‘potential customer,’” he said, air quotes and all. “Even if they deserve it.”

Gavi chuckled. “So does that mean you still prefer this?”

“Definitely.” Mazik laughed. “I mean, anything that leads to me seeing an attractive woman without a shirt on is great in my book, aaaand I shouldn’t have said that!”

“…no, it’s okay,” said Gavi softly. “I know you didn’t mean to, and I appreciate the compliment.”

“Erh, yeah…” Mazik scratched his forehead. “No problem.”

The silence probably only lasted a handful of seconds, but to Mazik it seemed like an eternity.

“But still, it is crazy,” said Gavi, her heels scraping through the dirt as she stretched her legs. “The warehouse last night, and now this. It’s amazing we haven’t gotten more badly injured than we have. Or…” She didn’t need to say it.

“Gotta thank Raedren for that one,” said Mazik. He rubbed his shoulder and winced. “Though I think we’ve still gotten pretty banged up.”

But Gavi didn’t hear him. She let her head fall against Mazik’s shoulder. Mazik stiffened. If Gavi noticed, she didn’t let on. She just stared forward, her mind focused inward.

More time passed.

“I need to thank you,” said Gavi. Her voice was soft and fragile.

“What for?” asked Mazik.

Gavi pulled her legs back to her body, her heels scraping furrows in the dirt floor.

“If it weren’t for you and Raedren, I would be dead a hundred times by now,” said Gavi. “Last night, and now today…” She held up an arm, and the quilt slipped away, revealing the cuts, bruises, and burns that littered her skin, each made shallow by the barriers that protected her.

Gavi slid her arm back beneath the quilt. “And me? I’m not really sure I’ve done anything.”

“What? No, that’s not true,” said Mazik. “What about driving the cart earlier? And you watched my back in the warehouse, and distracted that head cultist woman. Hell, we wouldn’t even be here without you. The maps, the planning, all that searching … and then you were the one who actually
found
the kidnappers and followed them back to their hideout. That was all you, Gavs!”

Gavi smiled tightly. “Thanks. But still…” She waved a hand. “None of that was … caster stuff, you know?”

“You used mana to fight the whole damn time,” said Mazik. He was starting to get heated. He didn’t like anyone putting down his friends, even themselves. “And you used it to keep up with the kidnappers you spotted, and, ya know, to
see
them in the first place.”

“Okay, but how much of that could I have done if I couldn’t use magick at all?” asked Gavi. Some of her normal vigor was returning, even if it was in the service of tearing herself down.

“Well—”

“And spotting them doesn’t count!” said Gavi. “That wasn’t
my
magick. As for pretty much everything else…” She laughed sadly. “I mean, take when we were running away earlier. I couldn’t do a thing. If I had stopped to try to stab someone, I would have been torn apart. All I could do was run.

“The cart, that was all because Dad taught me. In the warehouse, I just got beaten up and thrown around. At best I was a minor annoyance, just some amateur flailing around with a sword.” Another laugh, this one harsh. “An extra year in the military, and that’s the best I could do. I’m really…”

She shook her head. “I just feel like I’m a burden to you guys.”

A big hand landed on top of Gavi’s head. Gavi looked up at Mazik. He was smiling.

Gavi squinted as Mazik ruffled her hair, her blonde locks flying in disarray. Mazik stopped, and began patting her head instead. “I see why you like to do this. It’s fun!”

Gavi glared up at him. “You weren’t listening at all, were you?”

“Of course I was,” said Mazik. He released Gavi and settled back.

“Look, in a way you’re right,” said Mazik, staring at the ceiling again. “I won’t lie and tell you something that isn’t true. You’re not as powerful as me, much less Rae, and that’s just how things are. But here’s the thing. I…”

“You?” said Gavi, gently inquiring.

Mazik took a deep breath. “…we would have never tried something like this without you.”

Gavi blinked. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Mazik started to speak, then stopped. He started again, more slowly this time.

“I mean, okay, so the whole thing was my idea, so none of this would’ve happened without me,” said Mazik. He gave her a wry smile. “I guess I’m the only one stupid enough to think we could actually pull any of this off.”

“Well, you were right,” said Gavi, smiling. “At least so far.”

“Doesn’t make it any less crazy,” said Mazik, becoming serious again. “But just because I’m stupid, doesn’t mean I’m … well, stupid, but in another way.” He considered this statement. “I said that dumbly.” He paused again. “That too. Er—okay. What I’m trying to say is, I’m not stupid enough to do this without someone around to watch my back and keep me alive.”

“And that’s Raedren,” said Gavi.

“Right,” said Mazik. “So without me, we never would have had the idea, and without Rae, we wouldn’t have had the life-saving magick to take it from completely insane to just mostly.”

“And me?” said Gavi softly.

“Without you…” said Mazik, trailing off. He was trying to find the right words. “Well, you remember when we were discussing whether we were should try this or not?”

“Of course,” said Gavi. That conversation had precipitated major changes in her life, some of which hadn’t entirely come to pass. She didn’t think she would ever forget it.

“During that conversation, I think Rae said about four things, and probably half of them were one-word replies or sarcastic quips about beer.” Mazik chuckled. “You know him. He’s a natural-born follower, and he’s selfless as hell. He knows it, we know it, everyone who’s ever met him knows it.

“And there’s nothing wrong with that!” Mazik added. “But it means talking to him wouldn’t have told me whether I was being unrealistic or not. If he thought there was even the slightest chance I’d try to do it alone, he would have come along just to make sure I didn’t get myself killed.” Mazik shrugged. “That’s just the kind of guy he is.”

Gavi nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“But you, you fought me on it,” said Mazik. “You picked apart my arguments and forced me to defend them. I knew that if you were in—or at least weren’t totally against it—then I wasn’t being totally ridiculous, and we might have a chance.

“And you did that again and again—at A&N, when we were planning at our apartment, and every time I floated some crazy idea yesterday and today. I knew you wouldn’t let a bad idea get past you, and that if you agreed, it was probably a good one.” Mazik grinned. “Or at least, a marginally sub-suicidal one.”

Gavi looked at him.

Mazik shrugged again. “So yeah, that’s it. I had the idea, and Rae has the magick to keep us alive, but without you, we still would have never tried. If you hadn’t at least agreed to help, I would have figured I was being too crazy or stupid, and it would have all stopped there. We would have never even tried…”

Mazik pulled Gavi close, hugging her. “What I’m trying to say is, you make the whole team better just by using your head!” he said, ruffling her hair again, and earning a tiny “Eep!” in return. “Oh, and by not believing a damn thing I say until you’ve picked it apart.”

Gavi smiled as they rocked back and forth. She sat up enough to face him. “Well … thanks,” she said, blushing for different reasons now. “It’s good to know that I’ve been of some help.”

Mazik ruffled her hair one last time before she wormed away. Mazik grinned. “No problem, babe. I meant every word of it.”

“Of course. I would
never
expect you to lie.” They laughed.

Mazik settled back. “Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t work on your casting, if you want to.”

Gavi surreptitiously glanced at the gap between then, but did nothing. “What, are you going to teach me or something?”

“Sure, why not? And I bet Rae’ll help too,” said Mazik. “After all the schooling we’ve been through, we ought to be able to teach you a thing or two. That way, the next time we do a quest, you’ll have more faith in your abilities. If you think there’s going to be a next time, that is.”

Gavi looked away, and then nodded slowly. “Yes, I think there will.” She smiled. “And yes, I’d like that.”

“Great!” said Mazik. “Will that be your order?”

“Order?” asked Gavi.

Mazik shook his head, his palm on his forehead. “The bet! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about it.”

“Ohhh, that.” Gavi laughed sheepishly. “With everything that’s been going on, I kind of did.”

“Pffft,” said Mazik. “Don’t make one of the guys who has to do whatever you say keep reminding you about it.”

“I won’t,” said Gavi, sticking out her tongue. “And no, that’s not my order. You offered to help, so I’m just taking you up on your offer.”

“Damn,” said Mazik, snapping his fingers in mock disappointment.

Gavi’s hand went to her necklace, her fingers tracing the edges of the arrowhead charm. “Hmm. Now that I think about it, I wonder what I should make you do…”

“Nothing perverted,” said Mazik instantly.

“Perverted?” said Gavi, looking shocked. “Who was it that was staring at me again?”

“Who was it that was undressing in front of me?”

Gavi hit him with her shoulder. “Such an ass…” she said, her voice teasing. Mazik laughed.

All of a sudden, there were noises upstairs. Mazik and Gavi tensed up.
Footsteps
, they thought simultaneously.
A lot of them
.

“That could be the cultists!” hissed Gavi. Above, one person broke away from the group and approached the door to the basement. Angry chatter followed.

“It
could
be, but it’s probably…” Mazik’s expression hardened. “But we ought to be ready, just in case.”

Mazik hopped over to his discarded robes and dug out a pair of daggers, one of which he passed to Gavi. The two of them rose to their feet, weapons held at ready.

Above, the other footsteps drew closer, and then stopped in front of the basement door. There was more chatter, talking, and then—

Knocking. Gavi and Mazik relaxed.

“That’s got to be Raedren,” said Gavi, lowering her knife. “I’ll go and—”

Before Gavi could finish the door burst open, the lock tearing through doorframe just like when they entered the building. The chair Gavi had wedged under the door handle slipped backwards and clattered down the stairs as blinding light flooded the darkness.

“…Maz? Gavi? What are you two doing?”

“Ah, Rae. It is you,” said Mazik as he squinted into the lantern lights. After a few seconds his eyes adjusted, revealing the scene above.

City guards marched into the cellar, their copper-colored uniforms splattered with dirt, grime, and blood. They looked unhappy, even more so than coppers usually did after they met Mazik. But this changed quickly, their faces softening from curiosity and amusement. They were followed into the basement by Raedren, whose smirk placed him firmly in the latter camp.

Before anyone could say anything, a lean woman with ragged blonde hair, sharp cheekbones, and a solid stride mounted the stairs. Like the others she was covered in dirt and blood, but hers wasn’t the copper uniform of the city guard, but the pale olive of the Houkian military. She was followed by two other soldiers, and the insignia on her shoulders and chest marked her as a major.

The major examined Mazik and Gavi. “These are your friends?” she asked, her voice even.

Raedren nodded, trying to quell a smirk and failing. “They are.”

The major turned back to Mazik and Gavi. Then her serious demeanor broke, and she smiled like a big sister who would just as soon kick your ass as look at you, but was amused right now. It was a pretty smile, but also frightening.