The Nine Bishops

The guild members stayed on the roof to watch the next fight. Master Beng’s victory had come so swiftly they had no time to discuss the battle. Shortly after, Bojo announced that K was being transported to the nearest medical facility. Mika wondered if she was alive. Mika’s thoughts quickly evaporated when Bojo started announcing the following fight.

The next fight was between Lizbeth Kine, of Nature’s Fury, and Bishop Tempest’s nominee. Mika already knew a lot about Lizbeth Kine. She was the most renowned member of her guild and on track to be the next guild master of Nature’s Fury, so she had a welcome place in the tournament. She was about forty years old and had tanned skin with black hair. Though she stood no more than five feet tall, anyone who judged her based on appearances was in for a rude awakening.

Her magic strain was similar to Roxanne’s, but she apparently used it in an entirely different capacity. From what Mika had read, Lizbeth could alter her size, becoming as small as an ant or as tall as a mountain. Mika wondered whether the articles she’d read had exaggerated, a common thing in such reports. She was about to find out.

Bishop Tempest’s nominee was a mystery—an advantage all Bishop’s nominees had, except for Lancel and Jazmine, of course. Tempest’s nominee was a man of about forty, strange-looking with a smooth face, devoid of any hair, eyebrows or facial hair. He looked like a blank slate, and there was no indication he belonged to any guild.

The two competitors took a fighting stance opposite each other, in the places Master Beng and K had occupied minutes ago. The countdown in the sky neared its end. The anticipation was killing Mika. Five, four, three, two, one. “Fight!” Bojo yelled.

Immediately, Lizbeth jabbed from her position, about ten meters from Bishop Tempest’s nominee. Instantly, her left arm became massive, almost as large as one of the ships in the harbor. The punch seemed to pulverize Bishop Tempest’s nominee. He went flying towards the barrier. Mika thought he was going to fly outside of the broadcast area, but instead he hit an invisible wall.

He is dead! No one could have survived something like that, Mika thought as she watched his body slide to the ground. To her surprise, the man got up. His body now looked bizarrely deformed, as though it were made of some sort of malleable substance. Slowly, it reverted to its normal state. Lizbeth didn’t look nearly as shocked by this as Mika was.

The man started running towards Lizbeth, but he couldn’t get anywhere close to her, as she threw a punch the size of a building. This time, the man reacted by sliding into the space under the punch. His body transformed into a claylike substance, and he wrapped himself around Lizbeth’s massive arm as though he were elastic.

Lizbeth immediately made her arm return to normal size, but the man remained wrapped around it. As the arm shrank back to Lizbeth’s body, the man came with it. She responded by shrinking herself so tiny as to be invisible to the spectators. The man splashed onto the ground and quickly reformed his body, looking around frantically to see where she’d gone. Before he could react, Lizbeth reappeared under him, growing from a speck to an enormous size.

She undercut him, square under the jaw, with a fist that looked the size of Mika’s guild house. Tempest’s nominee flew so high that he hit the ceiling of the barrier. Lizbeth didn’t wait for him to land back on the ground, but grabbed him in the air and slammed him down as hard as she could. The gigantic Lizbeth stomped on him, squashing him like a bug.

Lizbeth lifted her foot to reveal the man flattened to a pancake. She shrank herself down to normal size, apparently thinking she had won. But as soon as she was back to normal, the pancake of a man shot up like a snake and wrapped around Lizbeth’s head. She struggled hard to get him off, clutching his stretchy skin, but couldn’t do it.

Mika found herself deeply engaged in the fight and supporting Lizbeth. But now it was obvious that the guild competitor was helpless. For some reason, she wasn’t changing size but simply struggling to free her head. It made Mika almost sick to watch as the life drained from Lizbeth.

The whole time, Bojo was delivering color commentary as though the fight were an ordinary sporting event. After a very disturbing thirty seconds, Lizbeth had stopped struggling. When she was no longer moving, Bishop Tempest’s nominee returned to normal and stared at Lizbeth’s lifeless body to make sure he had been successful. Though the broadcast didn’t zoom in on Lizbeth’s face, Mika could see her eyes wide open and empty. As could everyone in Seemos who was watching the broadcast.

Lizbeth Kine, Nature’s Fury’s next guild master, was dead.

Mika had never seen anyone killed before. She felt cold as she stared at Lizbeth’s inanimate body. In her shocked state, Bojo Jack’s congratulatory remarks sounded muffled. Mika’s guildmates began quietly leaving the rooftop.

How could anyone have anticipated this? Mika thought, deeply disturbed at what she’d just seen. She couldn’t take her eyes off the sky, even when Bojo closed out the broadcast and the scene went to a countdown timer for tomorrow’s fight. Mika kept staring into space.

Her thoughts raced wildly, recalling everything Master Beng had said about the tournament. She now deeply regretted participating. This is exactly why he didn’t want this for his grandson.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. “Come inside, Mika, there is no sense in standing out here thinking about it,” Master Beng said in a comforting tone.

Surprised to see him, Mika gave him a fast nod as he released her shoulder and walked back inside. Mika followed, suddenly angry.

“Master, why didn’t you warn me about the tournament?” she said furiously, chasing after him down the stairs.

“Hmm?” he hummed as he continued down, as if this were an innocent question.

“It’s obvious, after what I just witnessed, why you wouldn’t want Lancel to join the tournament. Why then would you join the tournament to kill others just to stop him?”

“Who said anything about killing?” he said, mildly.

“Master, that woman you fought—”

“She merely passed out. She is very much alive, Mika. Don’t you remember the three ways to win?”

So he never planned on killing her, Mika realized.

She hadn’t been sure about the outcome of his brief battle but assumed after the second fight that it must have meant death for K.

His response left Mika flustered.

“So, what are you going to do with me, then, if we fight each other?” she asked, knowing it was a dumb question the moment she uttered it.

Master Beng paused, as though thinking through his response. “It depends if Lancel makes it to the last round. If he does, then I suggest that you yield. It would make things easier for both of us,” he said nonchalantly. He was acting entirely different than he had the day before.

“No way. I’m not going to yield to you,” Mika said stubbornly.

Master Beng laughed. By then they were in the guild’s common area, where Doc, Roxanne, and Tink had convened.

“Lawrence, don’t give the girl such a hard time. What you really should be doing is giving her advice on Toby,” Roxanne interjected. Mika’s rebellious attitude quickly dissipated after Roxanne’s proposal. Rather than worry about what might happen, she needed to focus on what was bound to happen, which was her fight with Tobias Zan.

Master Beng gave Roxanne a shrug and then looked back at Mika. “Okay, fine, I’ll give you some insight about your upcoming fight. But I really don’t know what the man is capable of right now. I imagine he is a much better mage than he was ages ago. Do you know how his magic strain works?”

Mika nodded. She knew every guild participant’s magic from memory. Tobias Zan was an earth mage. He was a master of Manipulation and Transformation and had forty-six first-class contracts to his name, so he was not someone to be trifled with.

“From what I remember, Toby has always had trouble managing his offense and defense in conjunction. He normally tries to end the fight quickly, but compromises his defense if he does that. I think he is likely to be very cautious, since he doesn’t know anything about your magic. Getting through his defense will be near-impossible if he is focused on protecting himself,” Master Beng explained, looking up as he pondered a solution.

“So what you are saying is that my best chance to defeat him is when he is on the offense?”

“Yes, but after what happened with Lizbeth today, I doubt he will show his hand,” Master Beng said, laughing. “Do you get it? He is the master of Royal Flush,” he explained, chuckling to himself. Mika smiled, but only for a second. Now wasn’t the time for jokes.

“If only you could trick him with a different magic strain,” Master Beng offered. Mika wasn’t sure if he said that as though he knew something, or was still joking.

“Master, I think I know what you are getting at. I should basically do a feint.”

“That is exactly right, but don’t get caught off-guard. Just because Toby is not good at using both offense and defense simultaneously doesn’t mean that he can’t transition instantly. You are just going to have to find an opening, no matter how small it will be.”

Mika appreciated the tips and felt more prepared for her fight tomorrow. It would begin in less than twenty-four hours, and she still hadn’t had a chance to talk to Zaya and Tink about what had happened. After thanking Master Beng for his counsel, she left him and found Zaya and Tink in the dining room, sitting at the table and talking.

When Mika entered, both turned quickly to Mika.

“Hey, are you okay? I saw how you watched that last fight, and we both felt we should give you some space,” Zaya said.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. It’s just a lot to take in, is all,” Mika responded.

“What did you talk to Master Beng about?” Tink asked.

“Just about my upcoming fight. He gave me a few pointers on how to deal with Tobias Zan.”

“Do you want be alone, then? You’re probably really stressed out from watching the other fights—I would be freaking out right now if it were me,” Zaya said.

“That doesn’t help, Zaya,” Mika said, sticking out her tongue. “But no. I think the last thing I need to be doing is thinking about the fight. Can we just hang out so the anticipation doesn’t kill me?”

She suspected Zaya would make some excuse to not spend any more time with Tink, but Zaya did the opposite.

“We should all go to Albert’s Bakery and get some kolaches. It’ll be my treat,” Zaya offered, smiling at Tink. He gave her a confused look. She’d never offered to spend time with him outside the guild house before.

Rather than dwelling on this strange change of attitude toward being seen fraternizing with Tink, Mika responded with a big smile, “That’s exactly what I need right now. You coming, Tink?”

Now he was in no position to say no. Two mages were asking him to spend time with them—in public. He glanced back and forth between the two of them, unsure of what to say.

Zaya didn’t wait for a response. She got up from her chair, yanking him up with her by the arm. Mika followed the two outside, and the trio began walking toward the other side of Monsoon. Naturally, Tink walked a couple of paces behind Zaya and Mika, as any Filth would have done, until Zaya told him to stop trailing behind them so they could talk together. Tink hesitated briefly but picked up his pace and walked beside Mika and Zaya.

There was plenty of foot traffic around them. Mika was drawing some attention from people coming the other way who apparently recognized her from the selection. But once Tink started walking with them, she noticed all the mages paying attention to him rather than her. She heard one whisper to another in passing: “What is she doing with that Filth?”

It didn’t take long before all three were feeling the effects of the taboo. Mika and Zaya tried their best to ignore it, but Tink was visibly nervous about the weight of eyes on him. When they arrived at Albert’s Bakery, Mika elected to stand outside with Tink while Zaya went in to get the food. Mika noted something here she hadn’t before: a sign that said No Filth. She was startled to realize she had stopped noticing such signs because they were everywhere in Monsoon.

Zaya emerged with a box of two dozen kolaches, and the trio walked to the park Mika and Zaya always went to. They found a secluded spot and stretched out on the grass, eating. This wasn’t as relaxing as it usually was, especially for Zaya, who would tense every time she heard someone coming their way and keep her head low to avoid being noticed.

After an hour or so, Zaya and Tink finally began to relax and resume normal conversation, when they realized no one would see them in this private part of the park. The three talked about everything but the tournament as they stuffed their bellies. Mika was grateful to have her two closest friends spending time with her at the same time. Before long, the sun was going down.

“I think it’s about time that I get back to the guild house. I need to start preparing dinner,” Tink said.

“Yeah, we have been out here for so long that’s probably a good idea, Tink,” Mika said, getting up and stretching.

Zaya quickly got up as well. “Well, I guess I will see you tomorrow, then?” she asked.

“Absolutely. Feel free to come to the guild any time before midday. I won’t leave until last second, probably,” Mika replied.

“Okay, see you then!” Zaya said with a wave before heading off in the opposite direction.

Mika and Tink quietly headed back, keeping silence for at least ten minutes before Tink raised a topic he might have been thinking about the whole time they were with Zaya.

“I’m sorry that I’ve never told you about my past with Zaya.”

Mika was about to respond, but he went on.

“My mother and I used to serve her father. I don’t know how much you know about her background, but her father is a very powerful man.”

Mika knew Zaya came from wealth, but she didn’t know what her father did. Zaya said little about her family, and it seemed she didn’t have a very good relationship with them. She’d always switch the topic to something else, as though there was a lot of baggage associated with even mentioning her relatives. Mika listened intently.

“He actually is the master for one of the private mages’ guilds, True North,” Tink said.

All the public guilds were in Monsoon, which was open to all mages for application. The private mages’ guilds, on the other hand, were entirely exclusive and generally were in the north.

Mike knew Zaya was from Valhalla, but she had no idea how far north she lived. The farther north you traveled in Seemos, the more wealthy and powerful the mages were. Powerful not necessarily as to magic ability, but in terms of influence, wealth, and land. True North was one of the most elite mages’ guilds in Seemos and its members among the wealthiest, because they helped facilitate the king’s rule as lords.

In the case of True North, you could not apply for membership. They selected their members. The fact that Tink once served in that guild explained why he was so well educated.

“A lot of Filth served in True North. My mother served as the guild’s cook. That is how I learned to cook myself. There, I was educated and taught how to behave properly, even from a young age. It was only my mom and me, since my father died a long time ago. I grew up there alongside the other few Filth my age. Many of them came and went because it was so competitive. My mom was amazing at her job, so we were there longer than anyone,” Tink said. Mika, listening carefully as they walked, noticed his tone change.

“The one other thing that stayed the same was Zaya. The Filth were forbidden to interact with the mages’ family members. For the most part I didn’t even see any of the other mages, so that wasn’t a problem. That is, until Zaya showed up one day,” Tink said, a momentary smile crossing his face.

“She was a very rebellious girl. She never listened to anyone and always broke all the rules. We were just children then, so we didn’t know any better. It didn’t matter to us, because we both wanted a friend. We snuck out to see each other, and we did all sorts of things together as children. Then, when Zaya’s mother became sick, everything changed.” The smile was gone.

“I started to notice something different about my mother when I heard Zaya’s mother say she was very ill. My mom started looking exhausted. There was a lot of pain in her eyes, and sometimes there would be bruises on her face. I always asked her what was wrong, but she always kept quiet. It wasn’t until years after I was sent away from the guild that I realized what had happened when Zaya’s mother got sick.” Mika heard shame creeping into Tink’s voice.

“Zaya’s father had always taken a fancy to my mother. Even I noticed his behavior was different around her, any time he spoke to her. My mother ignored his attention and stuck to being an obedient cook. Then one day, after playing with Zaya, I returned home to see my mom with a black eye. That was the first time I had seen her injuries. That was the first night Zaya’s father took advantage of her,” Tink said, his teeth gritted.

“You mean … raped her?” Mika said gently, recalling the terrifying predicament she’d had with the bandits just two years back. Tink nodded.

“Shortly after, my mom’s injuries became more apparent and more frequent. I was so young and so stupid not to realize what Zaya’s father was doing to my mother. She was never the same. It was like she was empty inside. I think she endured it for my sake, because one day she told me she’d saved enough money to send me away.

“That was the last time I ever saw her,” Tink said, his voice cracking.

The rest, Mika mostly knew. Tink had spent a lot of time in an orphanage close to Monsoon. He had told her his mother died long ago. But she wondered how he knew that to be true, since according to what he’d just said, he hadn’t seen her since the day she sent him away.

But that was a question for another time. Now Mika understood why it was so hard for Tink to be friends with Zaya again. Zaya could not possibly have known why; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so carefree about seeing him again for the first time.

Mika was at a loss as to how to respond to this terrible story. By the time Tink had finished, they were back at the guild house, where they discovered there was plenty of food already prepared. It appeared that Pudge couldn’t wait to eat, so he had gone out and bought a cooked chicken, which he duplicated many times over—as evidenced by the plates of bones in the kitchen. There were ten rotisserie chickens left, so Mika and Tink, laughing about the kitchen spectacle, grabbed plates and sat down to share one of them in her room, where they could continue talking privately.

As they ate in silence for a few minutes, Mika thought about what she could possibly say in response to his story. So far, she had been so busy listening she hadn’t even acknowledged his pain.

After a lot of deliberation, she finally figured out what to say. And that night, Mika told Tink everything. She told him about the circus, Sam and Bella, her Filth upbringing, the first time she used magic, her run-in with a Bishop, about the power of her necklace, and that she was Arcane. That night, Tink became the first-person Mika ever told the whole story of her past.