“I told him what he wanted to know,” Vex answered, looking almost smug. As if this was a secret thing he shared with Finley alone. “And then let him go pursue that answer.”
“What answer? What did he want to know?” The questions came out rapid fire. “You said something about ‘if he lives’ so what did you mean about that?”
Rhalyf swallowed. He mustn’t babble! And he mustn't show how much he liked Finley! After all, he wasn’t sure what his uncle was going to do with him.
From the indulgent look his uncle gave him, it was much, much too late to pretend he didn’t like the young man. “Come now, Nephew. What does Finley want to know more than anything?”
“He… magic,” the word exited his mouth like a breath. “Magic. He wants to wield magic, but he’s human so he can’t and… can’t he?” He stopped where he was going as he saw his uncle’s lifted eyebrow. “Can humans wield magic?”
“Yes.”
He blinked rapidly. “But–but their life force–”
“Not like us. A different magic. Very different. But very powerful,” Vex said the word “powerful” as if it had a pleasant flavor. He rolled the word in his mouth. Tasting it. “A lost and ancient magic that none have wielded fully in a… well, in a very long time.”
“But if that is true, obtaining knowledge about how to wield magic for a human would be very dangerous–”
“Deadly actually.” A smile and a nod.
“So you sent Finley to his death?!” He shrieked. Oh, he did shriek. That was unfortunate. Vex stared at him. He swallowed and lowered his voice, sounding almost normal as he asked, “Where is he? I have to–”
“Do nothing. Go nowhere.”
“What? But if he’s in danger, I have to go and help him!”
And what good and true Kindreth did that? He could almost see his mother and sister staring coldly at him and shaking their heads. Why couldn’t he be normal for a simple conversation with his uncle? Why did he have to show such weakness?
“I did not send Finley. He chose to go,” Vex explained tartly. “Would you appreciate someone bumbling after you when you went into the lost city of the Arcrem? Or when you stole the manuscripts of Thostis the Cutter? Or when you–”
Rhalyf held up a hand. “Yes, yes, I understand what you’re saying.” He blinked then. “You knew I did all that?”
“I have known everything that you have done, Nephew, even if you didn’t know I was watching over you,” Vex said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Watching over me. Not simply watching me. Was that a slip of the tongue? Or was that meant?
“Finley–”
“Will succeed or fail. On his own. As we have all done. As mages must do in order to earn their magic. He would not thank you for interfering any more than you would have thanked me,” Vex said.
“But if I had gotten into trouble–”
“You did,” Vex snorted.
“Yes, yes, but if I nearly died–”
“You did. Lament is the result of your battle with Thostis, no?” Vex shook his head, but in amusement.
“I… yes, well… But Finley is human! Until the Leviathan burst through to Earth half a decade ago, he didn’t even know magic was real! Now, he’s in the Under Dark and–”
“And?” Vex chuckled. “I think once you know Finley better you’ll find that regardless of when he had proof of magic existing, he has always been fascinated by it. He looked to science, because that was closest to the magic he had read about, dreamed about, but now…” Vex’s expression went almost dreamy as if he were seeing something other than the garden before them. “But now he will finally wield that which has haunted him all his life.”
Silence fell again between them. Not an awkward silence, but one that was filled with too many possibilities. Rhalyf found he had so many things he wanted to ask. So many things perhaps he should have asked his uncle long ago. He should be asking about where Aquilan and the others were, but he would find them himself in the end. If Vex wasn’t killing him, why would he attack them?
Declan being his son… Aquilan being the Sun King… Darcassan being an idiot… Oh, so many reasons!
But if Vex hadn’t killed Finley, but actually sent him on a quest for magic, would he kill his best friend? Was Vex really here for his son? Maybe he loved his son… That was insane! But… could it be true?
Yet, as Finley definitely wouldn’t have been surprised by, instead of asking about anyone else, Rhalyf asked about himself.
