Ah. So stressful trying not to watch the finals while I'm writing this. My gut is clenched. I really want G2 to bring it home for Europe, but the competition is stiff.
Chapter 16
A migraine tingled behind Ruby's eyes.
It had been there for days but she'd failed to really place it before Cinder pointed it out. Irritation over Martyn, annoyance over lessons or just concern for Yang, she'd unconsciously made excuses for it every time, ignoring the pain as it grew and grew. Now with her hands shaking and her eyes darting about madly, she wasn't sure how much longer she could have waited.
Days, probably. The magic was just bubbling under the surface, desperate to burst out.
It'd be so easy to cast something right now, she thought, slipping through the trees inside the Collegium walls. That must be how Wildmages get caught.
It was a miracle she hadn't been caught already. Whatever means the Arcanists had to find her, sensing her magic inside the Collegium wasn't one of them. All her magic cast in lessons was wild magic, including when she took control of Malneux's flames to burn him. If the teachers couldn't spot her using it, no one else could – which was fortunate since she needed to make herself invisible before going through the gates.
A quick glance back to the dorms showed it shrouded in dark, lit only by two torches burning outside. It was close to midnight and Weiss was fast asleep, this time with the knowledge that Ruby was going to be out for the night. She'd promised that she should be back before Weiss woke up, but that if she wasn't, Weiss was to just go to lessons and Ruby would meet her there.
The excuse she'd given was vague; Weiss hadn't noticed. She hadn't mentioned visiting Jaune because Weiss could ask him later and he'd know she was lying, but she'd alluded to it and let Weiss make her own assumptions. Failure to correct Weiss on those had been enough to have her grimacing and asking Ruby to spare her the sordid details later.
A request easily granted considering what she'd be up to.
There was no need to hide in the Collegium grounds since she was allowed out, but Ruby kept to the shadows regardless. She'd considered wearing her Initiate Robes to hide who she was, but fear of being seen from a distance and the dorms being searched changed her mind. Instead, she'd taken the time to visit the cleaners who worked with other servants deep in the school and steal a set of robes that were a little redder in colour. With any luck, someone watching from a distance would assume she was a Crimson Arcanist.
Inside, she'd bundled a few more trinkets lifted from the students, ready for Yang to pawn off. Nothing from Weiss of course, but Martyn's cronies made for convenient and accessible targets. She hadn't stolen anything from him, sadly, too afraid of every finger being pointed at her, his obvious enemy.
It ought to be enough. Some of these will sell well enough for Yang to eat well for months. That should be enough time for me to steal and fetch more.
Keeping close to the wall, she skirted around to the south-east gate. It was far enough away from the dorms that it wasn't the closest – in fact, it was closer to the Crimson Arcana training grounds, which was no accident. Tugging her Arcana close under her borrowed robes, she pushed up as far as she dared while remaining in the treeline.
Now was the moment.
Through the gate or over. She'd considered the latter, either using wild magic to slow her fall or let her glide, but Cinder's warnings turned her against it. At least with the other option, she could make excuses if she was caught and walk away.
"Invisible. I need to be invisible." Ruby scrunched her eyes shut and tried to tap into that well of power surging up through her body. "Make me invisible please. Invisible. Unseen. Don't notice me."
Wild magic was intent based. Intent wasn't always easy to manage, nor to control. It had been a lot easier back when the guards had been searching the wagon because of the terror. That helped focus her attention, whereas she had a hundred other things going through her head at the moment, from how Yang would be to how bad the surges might get and all the way to how best to hide from any Arcanists in the city. With her magic surging, there was a very real chance of losing focus if she got distracted.
Invisible. Invisible. Invisible.
Ruby gasped as the magic rushed out of her. It was a wonderful feeling, like going for a piss after hours of holding it in. It came out fast – too fast! Gritting her teeth, she wrestled it under control, half through force and half by internal begging.
"Don't surge. Please don't surge!"
It drifted away slowly. The indulgent feeling of letting it all out dripped off, leaving her frustrated but finally under control. Her fingers were twitching so bad she had to clench them into a fist and squeeze tight. Close. That'd been closer than she realised. No wonder Wildmages got caught outside the Collegium; they didn't even understand what was happening to them. It's just like when I was sick with Yang. And the Arcanists only started banging on our door after I let go and used my powers. If that's going to happen again, I need to do it somewhere away from Yang.
Taking a quick breath, she stepped out from the bushes and walked quietly to the gate. Time wasn't going to wait for her and the headache was worse. It was a sign that this had to be done tonight before she was unable to move. As for the spell, she had to test if it worked. There was something going on around her – she could feel the magic – but it could have been doing anything.
Invisible. Unseen. See through. Invisible. Hidden. Don't see me.
There were four guards at the gate. They were talking amongst themselves, though that didn't mean they weren't paying attention. Two were looking outward and two back into the Collegium, to say nothing of the sentries on the walls. As she got closer, their quiet chatter became audible.
"-witch still looking in the lower quarters. Not been found yet."
"Still? It's been too long. I say they've died – done themselves in."
"You know the Collegium can't afford to take that risk. It's a threat that needs to be dealt with, and quickly. They should send out more Crimson Arcanists. Flood the city and flush it out, then corner and kill it before it's too late."
"That'd panic the locals. You know that. Can you imagine the reaction to a legion of Arcanists walking through the streets?"
"Lower Quarter, mate. Who gives a damn?"
She was so close that they had to have seen her if they could. The fact they hadn't gave her the confidence she needed to continue. Moving slowly so as not to make any noise, Ruby crept forward until she was less than ten feet away from them.
Don't see me. I'm invisible. You can't see me.
"Least all's quiet on this end. You see the new intake?"
"Watched 'em train. One or two that stood out, nothing too special."
It was working. She was already so close she could have reached out and shaken their hands and they weren't reacting. It wasn't a case of ignoring her either. They talked to one another but kept scanning the area, eyes passing over her without pause. Stopping between them, ready to move if they asked for a name, she slipped through the gate.
"Give them time. Old Alabaster will knock them into shape."
"Or knock their teeth flying!"
The one on the left laughed and moved, reaching over to punch his friend in the arm. He almost passed through her, but she managed to slip by and pin herself flat against the wall. The guards kept laughing loudly until those on the other side shouted for them to be quiet, at which point they muttered but went back to their posts, complaining about bastards with no sense of humour.
Ruby waited for a few more seconds before moving on, stepping through the open gate and between the final two guards, those on the outer edge. They were more disciplined but also looking the other way.
Nothing to see here. No one here. I'm invisible.
The guard to the left scratched his cheek. The creak of his leather armour stretched out, followed by the footsteps of someone walking on the wall above. The guard to the right sighed and adjusted her spear slightly, scraping the butt against the cobblestones. They didn't react to her, even as she stepped out right between the two, finally setting foot outside the Collegium proper.
Wheels creaked and trundled far behind her. The guards turned and Ruby froze, panicking as they looked at her. And then they were looking beyond, completing their rotation to look back through the gate to where another one of the supply wagons was approaching at a steady clip.
Ruby took her chance and darted out, quickly crossing the road and slopping between the wooden fences of two noble households. Hunching low in the shadows, she peered out and up at the wall, waiting to see if anyone raised the alarm. A few seconds passed. More. A minute went by and the guards were already talking with the wagon crew.
No alarm. No one shouting after her.
It worked. Yes!
It wasn't much to cheer about – slipping by four Collegium Guard who didn't have a single Arcanist to their name – but it was proof of concept. If she just picked her gates based on whether they had Arcanists or not, she'd be fine. That meant no getting out the city with their hackles still raised but approaching the slums shouldn't be hard. They were looking to keep a Wildmage from escaping, not getting in.
Pulling her hood up tight, she jogged toward the gate to the Merchant's Quarter.
/-/
The hustle and bustle of city life was almost unfamiliar to her. The sheer number of people that moved around, even close to midnight, pressed in on all sides. It grew louder and louder as she reached the lower quarter her and Yang called home, where work was all too varied and many plied their trades in the lonely hours. Some of those were even legal. Ruby dropped the invisibility not far out from the gate, wresting her power back under control.
Her hood drew strange looks from some, but it was plain enough that few would believe her an Arcanist, especially when she threw most of it back over one shoulder to show her breeches and blouse beneath. That wasn't how an Arcanist acted, as Weiss would have said.
The gate to the lower quarter emerged ahead, the walls so much more cracked and dirtier than of the Collegium and Noble District. The guards there would have been bored and inattentive by now, if not for the presence of an ornately robed figure at each.
Arcanists on the gates, Ruby thought, slowly turning and walking away. They could sense magic used even if they couldn't see her, so while she could sneak on by, they'd know something was wrong. The gates were narrow enough that she'd have to pass within ten feet of them. More than close enough.
Luckily, the lackadaisical nature of the guards provided plenty of other ways in. The walls weren't even complete around the district – at several points the Merchant's Quarter was just higher up, built tall to avoid the annual floods that ravaged the slums, and the people relied on that height as its own natural defence. Climbing up was difficult. Climbing down, not so much, but who cared if people wanted to get into the slums?
Ruby hooked her legs over the ledge and began the familiar climb down. It would have been faster with magic but also more visible – and there were people around, most of whom ignored her. Messengers or thieves coming and going up the walls wasn't unusual, and no one wanted trouble of challenging one and getting a shiv in the gut. A few short minutes later, she pushed off and dropped the last few feet, landing with a roll.
"Okay. That's the easy part over…"
Getting out would be the hard bit.
But first, Yang.
With midnight already long past, she jogged through the winding streets toward Junior's place, making sure to hold her hood low over her face and keep one hand fixed on her coin purse. There weren't any Arcanists in the slums as far as she could tell, but the odd towers built on the outer wall were still there, each one containing a bell. Those were obviously some means of finding her.
Building bell towers couldn't have been cheap, either in material or labour. They either really wanted her in the Sanctum or they were thinking of more Wildmages appearing in the slums. Still, the expensive involved was over the top. Was she that much a danger to them or did they just have so much money it didn't matter? They had to be guarded too. You couldn't leave something like that unattended in the slums and expect it to stay there.
I've changed so much and yet the slums are the same as ever. The people here would like that change too, if they were given the chance.
Meanwhile, the nobles in the Collegium had more open space than they knew what to deal with, bathrooms that magically got rid of waste and food so fine it defied logic. All that and more, along with huge homes and the best guards to protect them. Why couldn't they share that? Why did people down here have to wash up dead in the river because they couldn't find clean drinking water?
"They don't care at all, do they? We're just Dredgers."
With a shake of her head, Ruby knocked three times on the front door and waited. Footsteps echoed inside, along with the creak of a chair. A small hatch at head height entered but there was no face there. Showing one was a good way to lose your eyes.
"Who goes?"
"Melanie. It's me, Ruby."
"Ruby?" Melanie Malachite poked her face up to take a look, then leaned back down. Bolts scraped as the door was unlocked and opened. Melanie stood inside with a knife in hand, though thankfully at ease by her side. "Well, well, well, look who's back – and looking fancy, too. Life in the Merchant's Quarter has been doing you well."
Merchant's? It must have been the excuse Yang gave since she couldn't very well reveal anything else. The higher quality clothes and the way she'd filled out on the good food only sold the image further.
"Yeah. Things are easier there. Is Yang in?"
"She is." Miltia remained in the doorway, expectant.
"I brought you something."
"Hm." Her smile grew. "Glad to hear it. After me and Mil helped look after you two."
"I'd not forget my debts," Ruby said, fishing out a silver and jewel-encrusted bracelet. It belonged – or had belonged – to a rather prissy noble girl a year older than them who made a habit of fanning herself and showing off for the Newbloods. She was always so focused on the sweaty boys she didn't notice much else.
"Oooh." Melanie took it and held it up, watching the light sparkle off the gems. "Now this is nice. Not the kind of thing anyone could just buy, even in the Merchant's Quarter." She slipped it on her wrist and admired it. "I see your fingers are as slippery as ever."
"You trained me well. Here, there's one for Miltia as well."
A necklace this time. It didn't really matter since neither would be wearing it. The jewels would be pried out and the metal melted down, both sold separate to make sure no one could track them back. They looked to be of similar value and that was all that mattered.
"You're a doll, Ruby. Come on in." Melanie closed and locked the door behind her. "No one knew what to think when Yang said you'd found work. Junior was upset but calmed down once Yang showed you were willing to settle debts. He liked some of those baubles you lifted."
Debts? Damn it, Junior must have found out about the stuff she'd brought Yang! Whether he'd taken those for himself or Yang chose to give him some as was his due, there was no telling. He must have been upset to lose his best messenger, though. Enough to maybe see it as a betrayal. That was dangerous.
"Yeah, it's not like I was going to forget about you all." Ruby returned the hug, though she made sure to keep the rest of her goods away from Melanie's roaming hands. "And I have some more goods for Junior too."
"I'm glad to hear it," a masculine voice said.
Ruby tensed.
Junior looked as intimidating as ever, especially in the low light of the burning candle he had in one hand. He must have been awake when she knocked. He looked as grizzled as he had the last time she'd seen him, intimidating, but not quite as much as he had been. She was an Arcanist now, albeit an amateur.
He was a man who had been good to her and Yang, for a certain definition of the word. How much of that was out of a desire to have Yang in his bed, she didn't want to know, but if it wasn't for him and the twins, they'd have probably died a long time ago. He was also the man still looking after Yang, so she had to play safe.
"Junior." Ruby pulled away from Melanie. "I was planning on talking to you."
"Yeah? That's good. You neglected to do so when you suddenly left my employment."
"I didn't really plan to leave. It just sorta happened…"
"So Yang explained. Something about you being in danger and not wanting to draw it here." He paused, waiting for her to either confirm or deny that. Ruby shrugged. "I don't much like losing an asset, Ruby. You know that. I hope you're prepared to make it up to me."
Ruby jutted her chin out. "Yang already said I'd bring you money, didn't she?"
"Sure. And your baubles fetched a nice price. Nice, but not great."
Bullshit. The goods she stole were pure gold and silver, inlaid with real gemstones. If Junior didn't get anything for it, it was because he let someone con him. That was unlikely for him, which meant he was pulling a fast one on her.
Everyone's out for themselves. First rule of the slums.
"They were worth plenty. And these are worth more." Pulling out the things she'd planned to give Yang, Ruby held them out. The assortment of jewellery and ornamental goods sparkled in the packet she'd wrapped them up in. Melanie whistled and stared hungrily at the goods. Junior grunted and tapped the table beside him.
Ruby stepped over to put them down, passing by him.
His meaty arm wrapped around her shoulders without warning. Ruby gasped and kicked back, swinging her head back into his chest and slamming an elbow back as well. "Let go! Junior, no. Ah!"
Junior ignored her, running a hand under her cloak and up against her body, even rubbing over her chest. He quickly found the small pouch she'd hidden there and worked it loose.
Ruby just managed to wriggle out as he let go, spinning and glaring back at him. "What the fuck was that for!?"
"You were holding out on me," he said, upending the pouch. A few small gold and silver rings dropped out into the palm of his hand. "For your sister, I take it? I'll hold onto these since I'm the one providing her lodge, food and work. Wouldn't want her to waste it, would we?"
"The lodge and food are for the work she already does for you!"
"And these will cover the work you're no longer doing." Junior pushed the last rings into his pocket and tossed the empty pouch back to her. "Consider yourself lucky. Most wouldn't be so happy to let you get away with lying to them. I'm a forgiving guy."
Anger bubbled under the surface. Along with it, power. Her fingers started to twitch again, cracking out straight and tingling. The air around her grew warmer, so hot that the air wavered and became hazy. It would be so easy. So fucking easy.
"Yang is upstairs." Junior hadn't noticed. His ill-gotten gains secured, he no longer cared about her. "Don't cause trouble and be gone before dawn. She has work tomorrow and I don't need you distracting her."
Ruby forced the magic down. Her fists shook at her side. With but the wave of a hand, she could blow him away, take over and buy Yang a new life through sheer force. There wasn't a damn thing he or the twins could do to stop her. It was temping. So vert tempting.
Gritting her teeth, she broke eye contact.
"Yes Junior…"
"Good. Now get out my sight."
/-/
"Ruby!"
Yang swept her up into a hug and squeezed her tight. Ruby responded in kind, wrapping her arms around Yang's waist and burying her face in her bosom. She let out a long sigh, feeling the anger at Junior finally drain away.
"Fuck, sis, I was so worried about you. It's been weeks since you made contact!"
"M'sorry…"
"No. Don't be. Long as you're fine, that's all that matters." Yang pushed her away with her hands on her shoulders and looked her up and down. "And you're looking fine as well, sis." Yang picked up some of her growing hair, almost at a length to reach her shoulders. "Growing this out again? I'm glad. You look more like mom with it long."
Ruby nodded, her smile growing wider still.
"You're looking plump too!" Yang laughed and slapped her belly, earning a giggle. "All that food is going to your gut. And to other places." A poke at her growing breasts. "I always knew the slums were holding you back. In more ways than one."
"They're holding you back as well," Ruby said. "And why didn't you tell me Junior was upset!?"
Yang's smile fell. "Ah. You found out…"
Found out? So, Yang never meant to tell her. That was just like her – taking all the problems on her own shoulders and leaving her to deal with the safe stuff. There was a reason she got to work as a messenger and smuggler while Yang had to learn to beat down men twice her weight.
"Junior frisked me downstairs. I only managed to keep one thing on me." She presented a small ring she'd kept lodged in her palm. It'd be enough to buy Yang good food for a week and a half at least, but not much longer. "He stole all the rest!"
"It's fine." Yang took and pocketed it. "I'm happier to see you than money."
"You'd be happier with me and money…" Ruby grumbled. "You should have both! Did he steal the rest?" she demanded, anger – and magic - surging. "I'm supposed to be siphoning money so you can buy your way out the slums. Did he take it all? I can deal with him if he did. There's no point you staying here if he's just going to take it all."
"Ruby, no, calm down." Yang shook her. "Don't do anything stupid. Here." She dragged Ruby over to the centre of the room and pried up the floorboard. Beneath were several small bags. "See? He didn't take everything – just what I let him see."
Lien. Quite a lot of lien – a couple of hundred at least. More than she or Yang had ever seen in their lives before. Ruby let out a breath and sagged in Yang's arms. The wild magic trickled back into her, the air becoming still once more.
"I had to let him take something," Yang explained, "Otherwise he'd get suspicious and start looking harder. And I had to tell him some story of where you'd gone."
"Is he making you do anything you don't want to?"
"No. I'm still useful as a bruiser." Yang looked her up and down again, now paying more attention. "What's wrong with you, Ruby? You're shaking. I can feel you… It's like you're vibrating. Is it the sickness again? Do you need medicine? We can spend this if you-"
"It's not," she gasped. "It's not sickness… It… I… It's part of what I am."
Yang swallowed. "A Wildmage?"
"Yeah."
Ruby recounted Cinder's warnings as best she could, along with what the surges were and how the time before had probably been a surge. Yang listened with horror at first and then determination as the full story unfolded.
By the time she was done, Yang had a contemplative look on her face.
"So, you need to let these surges happen or they'll grow worse, but you can't do it in the Collegium because everyone would notice." Yang waited for her nod. "The safest place would be outside the city, right? Either in the farms or even the outskirts."
"I can't leave the city. They have Arcanists on every gate."
"We can disguise you."
"No." Yang didn't understand. How could she? The Arcanists liked to keep their abilities secret, probably so it was harder to know what to do around them. "We can sense other people using magic if they're close enough. It's one of the first things we're taught. They'll be checking every person who tries to leave, and I still have my Arcanum." She showed the sigil. "It's stuck to me with magic so I can't even get rid of it."
"And since Initiates can't leave the Collegium, you'd be in trouble, especially for trying to leave the city…"
"Yeah. That'd make me a Rogue Arcanist. They get the Sanctum."
If Cinder was right on what happened to the other Wildmages there, the Sanctum wouldn't even be a way to escape the surges of what she was. If they all went mad and killed themselves, the same might happen to her. It was something she chose not to mention.
"We need someplace out the way then. Those towers are obviously to detect you using it – I think they were tolling when you cast in here last time. Somewhere far away from here, too. Unless we want Junior's watched day-in, day-out."
Ruby sat quietly while Yang thought, thinking back to Cinder's comments on how lucky she was to have a sibling who cared. It had once been Cinder in this spot, trusting her fate to a loving family member, except that hers had delivered her to the Sanctum, abandoned her and then wiped their hands clean of her.
"I was thinking the trader's hub rooftops."
"Down by the market?" Yang frowned. "Why? I'd have thought the river would be better. Market will be pretty busy at this hour."
"I know. That gives us more people to hide among – and if we're on the rooftops, we'll be able to see anyone coming from a long way away." And if they came on foot and down below, they'd have even longer to escape.
Think like a thief and not an Arcanist. There was no way for her to out-Arcanist the Arcanists, so she had to rely on the edges she had.
"Running the risk of being spotted by locals. I'll have to hood up." Yang made her way to the door and pulled off a long cloak she used when she wanted to not be recognised. It was dark grey and mottled. She also pulled a piece of cloth up at the base of the hood which would cover her mouth and nose. "I wouldn't put it past some fucker to sell us out to the guards for coin. Junior wouldn't help us if the guards came knocking."
Junior wouldn't help them if they were on fire unless they had some way of paying him back. He wasn't someone who could afford to be charitable with the business he ran. The sooner I come back with more for her to sell, the sooner she can move out of this place. I need to hide it from Junior next time. And steal more.
Yang wouldn't approve of the risks taken but she'd do the same in her spot.
"Come on," Yang said, pulling the long cloak on. "Let's get this done with before it gets worse for you. We can talk after, when you're less likely to have an accident."
Ruby smiled and stood. "Thanks Yang!"
"Ha. No problem."
/-/
The bell vibrated softly. In an unerringly still wind, it hummed with unrestrained power.
The shadowed figure beside it stood. Tall and lithe, dressed in black and with a white facemask that reached up to his nose, he peered out over the city. In the distance another bell tolled softly, marking the horizontal axis to his vertical. The man tilted his cloaked head, looking out over the lower district and aligning the two points.
The local market. Its location was committed to memory.
Another figure rose too, garbed in the same black robes. Without a word, he moved to the edge and held up a single hand, two fingers pointed skyward. The first nodded, raised his hand, clenched a fist, tapped his chest and then pointed forward. The second shook his head, raised two fingers and pointed. The first nodded. As one, they drew long blades and rags, soaked them in oil and then sheathed them.
They stepped to the edge and off, falling the short distance to the rooftops below. Landing with one hand down, the first kicked off, close behind the second as they made their way toward the market. Behind them, the bells on the watchtower began to toll.
The hunt was on.
I'm sure these shadowy figures are just out for a sausage roll or something. I'm not even sure why they're in the story when they're so clearly unrelated to Ruby or the plot in any way. Yes siree.
Next Chapter: 17th November
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur