The Nine Bishops

It was early in the morning, after a restless night, when Mika arrived at the fountain. Sleep had been difficult, what with her mind racing with worries about the day’s fight. Master Beng had left the guild house after their conversation on the rooftop and hadn’t returned. Not having to talk with him again before their fight came as something of a relief.

Zaya had been considerably more hung over than Mika when she had finally awoken. She moved slowly and seemed to have forgotten a lot of what had been shared the previous night—including her declaration to Tink that she liked him. It wasn’t clear to Mika whether that was a genuine expression of feelings or just the alcohol talking.

At the time, Tink had reacted as Mika would have expected. He pretended Zaya hadn’t said it, though Mika was sure he had feelings for Zaya, too. Despite their social differences, it was clear to her that they had chemistry, though neither would admit to it.

When Zaya asked what had happened the previous night, Mika chose not to remind her about what she’d said to Tink, knowing it would elicit a protest.

The guild house came back to life as several other members trickled back in from their own misadventures while celebrating Mika and Master Beng’s success.

Mika pondered how differently the night would have gone had Tink not been ambushed. One good thing had come from that terrible event: learning that she had friends that she could count on for the rest of her life. Their newfound closeness and support was palpable.

Tink returned from a grocery shopping expedition, having set out later than usual. Normally, he would shop early in the morning to beat the crowds, but out of new concern for safety he had chosen to change his daily rhythm. Though mages could physically attack Filth with impunity, it was frowned upon during busy times. Unless a Filth was truly out of line, there was no call for beating one in the middle of the street, when there were a lot of onlookers. So for Tink, going out when there were more people about was safer.

Mika figured he might know the answer to a question that had been bothering her: Why was there such a flock of Filth children cheering her on?

His answer surprised her. Apparently, in Filth circles, Mika was the resounding favorite in the tournament. The Filth community in Monsoon was small but tight-knit and often of a common mind on such things. According to Tink, the Filth favored Mika because of her reputation in the community, as one of the few mages that took on fifth-class contracts. She may not have known many Filth in Monsoon, but they all knew her, especially after the tournament started.

Word of mouth had it that Mika had supported the Filth through many contracts. Obviously, mage communities didn’t catch wind of the fact Mika was so revered by Filth; otherwise, she would have been dismissed contemptuously as a “Filth lover.” When the tournament started, the adult Filth were rooting for Mika, and their children followed suit.

All of that made sense to Mika, but she was surprised her small contributions had made so much of an impact.

That conversation quickly led to another: Tink’s relations with the Filth community. He knew all the Filth who worked for guilds, and they were a major conduit of information. It was one reason he was so good at securing contracts for guild members.

As they chatted, Mika noticed with relief that he was looking a lot better after Doc’s ministrations. His wounds were healing well, and Doc’s masterful handiwork had put him on the path to a quick recovery.

After sharing a late lunch with Doc, Zaya, and Tink, Mika spent the rest of the day lazily at the guild house. Time moved slowly for Mika, because every minute was filled with thoughts about the coming battle. She’d asked the others to avoid talking about the tournament as much as they could, though it was on everyone’s mind.

Now, with the face-off with Master Beng a short time away, Mika was all alone with her thoughts. Though they’d made plans to walk together to the center of town for the fight, after her bad night she’d decided to leave the guild before dawn without telling her guildmates she was going.

Neither Manard nor their master had shown up last night. Mika was half-expecting to see Master Beng when she got to the fountain, but to her relief he hadn’t arrived yet. She wasn’t sure what she would say to him when he did.

Pondering her strategy, she tried to think of all the options she could leverage. But this only reminded her of the infinite ways she could lose. Master Beng’s magic strain was the wind. She could only imagine what was possible. He could win in an instant; that she knew for sure. How could she possibly counter magic like that?

She’d never felt so alone. Not lonely, but alone in carrying a huge burden that she didn’t yet quite understand. Though she’d had little sleep, she didn’t feel tired. If anything, she felt acutely awake.

After what felt like an eternity, she heard Bojo approaching, which meant that there were probably only five minutes left before the match started. Master Beng still wasn’t there. Mika looked around frantically for him. Although she didn’t want to face him, she certainly did not want him to not appear. Not showing up meant death, a fate far worse than losing.

As Bojo reached Mika, she heard more footsteps behind her. Expecting to see Master Beng, she looked around anxiously and discovered it was Lancel. She’d completely forgotten that Vixin Tamrie and Lancel were to fight immediately after her battle. That they were not even here yet struck her as peculiar. Coming late also meant death, and Mika knew better than to test the rules.

Before speaking, Bojo looked around for the missing contestants, but he seemed just as perplexed as Mika.

“It seems like you both might win this one by default,” he said. “Anyway, you’ve got five minutes until the match starts. You know the rules. Lancel, if you would,” he said, directing him towards the waiting area.

“Where is my grandfather?” Lancel asked, almost with a hint of worry.

“Appears he is a no-show as of now,” Bojo responded, shrugging his shoulders.

“What have you done?” Lancel said, directing the question at Mika. Mika stood silently, baffled as to why he would incriminate her.

“I knew the final round would come down to me and him. He’d better show up,” Lancel said in frustration before heading towards the waiting area.

In a moment, Mika was alone again, and once again waiting anxiously. The five minutes passed slowly, and she felt every second of it. She kept her eyes open, surveying the empty space around her, hoping Master Beng would show up.

The countdown began as Bojo’s voice called out, “ten, nine, eight …”

Master Beng was nowhere in sight.

Mika was in disbelief. Of all the strategies and scenarios she had played out in her head, her master not showing up was not one of them.

“Five, four, three …”

She spun around. Master Beng was not there. This was not how she wanted to win. Winning was not worth the burden. Mika suddenly became dizzy from the spinning and closed her eyes to regain her focus.

“Two, one!”

At Bojo’s command, the match began. And then …

“I yield.”

Mika opened her eyes and saw Master Beng in front of her, walking away. She didn’t move. She couldn’t believe he had shown up, literally at the last second, only to yield.

A moment later, Bojo was blathering on about her win.

Mika ignored the commentary. She shook her head, tried to get herself together. Master Beng had walked out of sight in the whiteness. I don’t want to win this way. I want answers!

Mika chased after him, hoping to get them.