Wai!!! Thanks for the reviews everyone. I got way more than I ever expected! To answer questions:
This will not be a Tris/Briar. In fact, this will not be an anyone/Briar. I don't like pairing Briar with his foster sisters because I don't think that any of them should be in love with each other. Sorry to those of you who hoped for a Briar/Someone romance.
I am going to continue the story right after Shatterglass and if I change anything it is unintentional.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, not even my clothes. They are my sister's and I stole them. I only own the plot, so please do not steal it. If you want to use my plot, please e-mail and ask.
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In Lingrei in Yanjing:
After exiting the Water Temple guesthouse, Briar decided to explore the city. They had only arrived in Lingrei 2 days before, and Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy had been busy helping the healers at the Water Temple. He had not had time to look around the city yet, so he wanted to look around the local marketplace. Briar usually explored the marketplaces at the cities that he visited to see the things unique to the city.
He walked down Water Street and eventually found himself at the local marketplace. He wandered around looking at the shops and turned onto Mage's Lane where he inspected the magical commodities. He stopped at a hedge witch's to look at her powders and potions. Briar always looked at other people's medicines to try to find ways to improve his. The shop shone with small beads of magic but he could see a large amount emanating from a bottle on a shelf above the counter.
"What's in that bottle?" he asked the woman abruptly. "The tall green one."
She looked shocked when he inquired about it and bent down to peer at him. "He met her sharp gaze and waited coolly for her answer. "It is very strong, boy," she said. "Only certified mages may buy it and only if they can prove that they have a great deal of power. It is not for children." She said the last word with awful emphasis.
"I don't want to buy it. I just want to know what's in it," Briar replied. He considered telling her that he was a certified mage but decided not to. No need to complicate things.
"Pahan Briar?" Evvy entered the shop. Briar and the woman swung around to see Evvy standing in the doorway of the shop. "What are you doing?" Evvy was shoved aside as a tall man entered the shop.
"Outta the way, wench." he said nonchalantly as he approached the woman, who was plainly frightened. "Give me the potion," he commanded. The woman reached for the green bottle with a shaking hand. "Hurry up!" he barked.
"Stop!!" a boy yelled. He charged into the shop and tackled the man. The man drew a knife and slashed at the boy. The boy fell to the ground, blood streaming from the wound in his side. The man went in for the kill only to stagger and sink to the ground as the flagstone floor trembled. Reeds and vines shot out of various containers, the dried plants no longer dead and brittle. The man struggled as his legs were trapped in a gap created by the flagstones and his arms were bound to his body.
Briar walked toward the man, smiling almost kindly. 'Yikes, that smile scares me more than Rosethorn,' Evvy thought as she helped the boy up.
"What do you want the potion for?" Briar asked the man lazily. The man's scowl disappeared when a vine brandished his own knife in front of his face.
"He wants it because it is rare and powerful," the boy interrupted. The bottle had fallen off of the shelf during Evvy's earthquake and now lay next to a potted plant by the counter. The hedge witch gaped as the plant sprouted a leafy twig and took the bottle to Briar. The boy looked at the bottle and frowned. It was made of lead, which shielded magic and he could see the runes for protection and concealment etched around the rim. The magic was very powerful, so Briar knew that something strange was up.
"In there," a hoarse voice croaked. Briar looked up as guards charged into the shop followed by a Djai or enforcer. "No one move," he commanded. "Are you all right Ryku?" he asked the boy.
"Yes sir, Djai Malip. I would've been a goner if these two hadn't saved me." he said, indicating Evvy and Briar.
"The man looked closely at Briar. "Who are you?"
"I'm Briar Moss. And this is Evvy"
"The Mage Council of Yanjing owes both you and Scijia Evvy a great debt, Scijio Briar," the man said. Briar frowned.
"You know we have magic?" Evvy asked.
"You must have some magic to have been able to catch Friezra," he said indicating the man trapped by the rocks and plants. "He is a very strong mage but he uses his magic to steal rare magical items. Also you are touching that bottle, Scijio Briar. Only people with very strong magic may hold that bottle and not be rejected by the magic contained within."
"Rejected by the magic within?" Briar asked in puzzlement. "What do you mean rejected?"
The boy with Evvy spoke up this time, "That bottle contains a rare serum that enhances magic and can cure any disease. It is the only thing that we know of that can cure the Herastor," he said, naming a disease that broke out sporadically and violently throughout the world. Few people lived when they contracted the disease and even fewer recovered their health and mentality. People were known to go mad, become paralyzed, or have a permanent handicap from the Herastor. "It is the only known bottle left in existence and the formula of the serum was lost long ago. I work at the mage laboratory where we were trying to learn the formula. However, the first day, we could not work with it because no one could touch the bottle without being burned or shocked by it. We put it in the keeping box to wait for a strong mage who would arrive the next day."
Malip took over. "However, that night the serum was stolen along with a sample of Herastor. We learned that Friezra was planning to refine the disease and use it to kill the mages in the Mage Council and to kill the king of Yanjing. With no one strong enough to fight him, he would then take over the country."
"But why did she have it?" Briar asked indicating the hedge witch.
"She is one of my enforcers. It was her job to be his partner and steal the serum and Herastor back. She has been on the run for the past few months and unable to contact us."
"So what are you going to do now?" Evvy asked.
"Well, we are going to return the disease and serum to the mage laboratory. Then we'll bind Friezra's magic and put him into a high security prison." The Djai went over to the struggling man and knocked him out with a spell. He reached down with his magic restrainers and snapped them on the man. "Uh, Scijio, Scijia, could you please release him so that I can take him to the Council?"
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At the Water Temple Guest House:
"Someone get the door," Rosethorn yelled. "I'm busy right now." Evvy scrambled to open the door before Rosethorn could threaten to kill whoever was sitting around while someone knocked at the door. She opened the door and saw Djai Malip and the boy.
"Hello, we came to see how you and Scijio Briar are."
"Please come in." Evvy led them into the main room and pushed Seashell and Jade off of the couch to make room for the two males. The cats yowled in indignation as they stalked off to find a place where they wouldn't be disturbed.
"Evvy, who is it?" Briar asked coming in with Rosethorn. "Oh, hello again. Rosethorn, these are the ones that I told you about." He turned to the men, "This is my teacher Rosethorn. You already met Evvy."
"Greetings, Djai," Rosethorn said. She looked at the young man next to Malip. He had black hair and almond-shaped brown eyes. "And what might your name be?"
"My name is Ryku Dingzai."
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Hehehe. Cliffhanger. You'll have to wait until I decide to write another chapter for Briar and Evvy. For those of you who do not understand, Dingzai is Evvy's last name. I think the next chapter will be Sandry. For anyone who thinks that she was out of character, you'll see why she's so angry in the next chapter. I think that her anger is normal for what happened. I already have an idea for Tris, but I need to figure something out for Daja. Oh well, I'll think of something. And if this chapter is not that good, you can flame if you want. Next chapter should come out within two weeks.
*Star Lily*