The Nine Bishops

After fighting through the crowds for what felt like hours, Mika finally found herself alone in the streets. In darkness, it took her longer than usual to navigate her way home, though the way was illuminated by street lights. Mika did not need to fight through crowds to return to the guild, since they remained in the center of the city, watching the rest of the ceremony.

A lot was on Mika’s mind. While she was slowly beginning to realize her dreams, she felt the overwhelming pressure of being Arcane: her ultimate destiny. She had achieved her long-life goal of making it Home, entering a guild, and establishing a sense of security. However, Mika was woefully ignorant of her own true story.

In part of her mind, Mika had believed she would be able to lie low as a new member of the mage society, but she was realizing now that that was very wrong. The Bishop medallion she carried reminder her otherwise. Mika would have to decide between two choices: Abandon the medallion and live a quiet life, the one that Sam and Bella had promised her. Or risk everything and enter the Selection of Sixteen.

Luckily, she thought, only three people know I have the medallion: Jaque and Simone—I can trust them—and Nik, of course. But her momentary peace of mind was shattered when she remembered she had also showed her medallion to a bunch of kids at the school while completing her fifth-class contract.

Surely word won’t spread too much from them, she told herself, knowing that in the gossip-ridden world of Monsoon that might just be wishful thinking. Either way, the Bishop’s medallion in her pocket had begun to make her feel acutely uncomfortable. Even though so few people knew she had it, she felt like a target. She had no intention of joining the tournament right now; she wasn’t even close to the caliber of mage as those participating. But a niggling worry crept into her thoughts: was it her duty to join it?

Mika was still baffled about why she had been chosen to receive the medallion in the first place. Was it a mistake on the Joker’s part? Was it just a cruel way to send someone to her death? She hadn’t forgotten what Nik had told her: “We have the same objective.” The words resonated in Mika’s head. What was her objective? Sure, becoming a Bishop could be an objective, but was it hers? And why?

Gaining power was just a means to an end. Someone as incapable with magic as herself had no chance of changing anything. Mika knew that much. But if she could unlock her true power, maybe then she could achieve the huge goals that seemed to beckon her forward.

Mika wanted to create equality in the world. The transition from Filth to mage had not changed anything in her heart and mind. She knew this world to be cruel, simply because it was a world divided. Mika was convinced her power as an Arcane could change things, even though she didn’t yet know how.

But there was so much she didn’t understand about the world, so much she needed to learn! She needed allies. Mika wanted to see Nik as an ally, but she knew better than to take his words at face value. After all, Nik’s Bishop name was the Joker, which implied he was not the most trustworthy source.

Lost in her thoughts, Mika had almost arrived back at the guild house when she spotted someone sitting on the stone wall that separated the sand from the streets. He was looking towards the ocean, his posture relaxed. All of the warning signs Mika had read while on her way to visit Zaya had cautioned against mounting the wall, because the fog’s dangerous magic could affect a person even from there. Mika couldn’t see his face but recognized him from his demeanor.

“Before you say anything, listen to the waves for a moment,” the man said calmly, his eyes fixed on the water. “I can’t remember the last time I could hear it over the commotion of the city.”

Mika walked closer, stood beside him, and took in the soothing sound of the waves. A few minutes passed in silence before Mika whispered: “I was just thinking about you.”

“Hopefully good thoughts,” he said, slowly turning his head to look into Mika’s eyes, his own flashing yellow.

“I haven’t decided yet,” she said, calmly meeting his eyes. “It’s odd. You are the last person I was really expecting to see, yet I’m not surprised.” She looked back out towards the ocean.

“That’s odd. You are the first person I was expecting to see, yet I am surprised to see you,” he replied.

“Why are you surprised?”

“Because a girl as beautiful as you shouldn’t look so troubled,” he said playfully.

Mika felt the warmth rising in her face, glad for the dim light so he wouldn’t see her blush.

“How am I not supposed to be troubled after what I found out about your medallion?” she asked sternly.

“Hmm, I guess that makes sense. May we talk about it as I escort you home? A fine lady such as yourself shouldn’t be caught alone at night,” he said, extending his elbow.

Mika knew there was really nothing to worry about, since the guild house was so close, but she couldn’t say no to Nik’s show of chivalry. She grabbed his arm and the two set off at a snail’s pace toward the guild. She knew her time to ask him questions would be limited tonight, so she pressed her opportunity.

“Why did you give me the medallion?”

“As I already told you, we have the same objective.”

“But what is our objective?”

“For you to be the ruler of Seemos,” Nik said, as if Mika already knew that. She stopped and let go of his arm.

“And who said that was my objective? That’s absolutely ridiculous!” Could he possibly know my real identity? she wondered, feeling a rising panic.

“Mika, it’s okay. You are safe with me. No one else is listening. You can trust me.” That hadn’t answered her question but diverted her from it in a way that calmed her a little.

Can I really trust him? How can I find out more about what he knows?

Mika thought for a moment before asking her next question.

“Even if that was my objective, which it certainly is not, how would giving me the medallion help?”

“The closer you are to the king, the more likely you are to take the throne.”

Mika was shocked by his words. Nik is a Bishop. He’s speaking treason. Even I know that much.

“How could you say such a thing? You serve the king!”

Nik sighed. “I don’t serve anyone but myself. And perhaps you. Now, will you please take my arm? I really ought to get you home before morning,” he said, with what looked like a kind smile.

The man perplexed Mika. Every answer from him confused her even more. He was such a mystery. In person he was kind, genuine, and charming, whereas in all of the stories, the Bishops were powerful, feared—and puppets of the king. Nik seemed as human as herself, not in the slightest a monster. Were all the Bishops like Nik?

Mika took his arm again and they walked on. As the guild house came into view, Mika found herself wishing she’d had more time with Nik, though she wasn’t sure whether it was because she needed more answers or simply liked being with him. At the door, Nik turned towards Mika so they were face to face, inches apart. As Mika looked up to his face, she felt her cheeks getting red again.

“Mika, I know you have a lot of questions. The only thing I can tell you right now is to trust me. If the medallion is such a burden, throw it as far as you can into the sea and forget about it. I only gave it to you because it’s your best chance at making things right.”

“But why is the tournament two years from now?” Mika wondered.

Nik shrugged. “The king willed it. I guess it’s good timing, because you are going to need time to train.”

Mika gave him a look to indicate she wasn’t buying what he was saying.

He smiled. “I wish we could talk more, but I’m all out of time.” He gave Mika a slight push towards the door.

She turned her head back for a second to add, “You can’t just dodge these questions.” But when she looked Nik was gone. “Nik?” she asked out loud, searching for him.

“Who are you talking to, girl?” a slurred voice called from about fifty meters away.

Mika looked in the direction of the voice and saw Master Beng stumbling toward the guild house. He obviously had been drinking. Just the sight of him in this state made Mika want to snap at him. She didn’t want to overstep her bounds, but she was burning to know why he would make the guild into the laughingstock of Monsoon.

“Master, does the guild have a token to enter the Selection of Sixteen?”

“Oh, course it does.”

“Then why didn’t you nominate someone for the selection? We were the only guild that didn’t have a nominee.”

“Dominate someone from section? What section?” Master Beng asked, drunkenly. It was then that Mika realized he was too drunk to answer coherently. Frustrated, she opened the door to the guild for both of them.

Mika was about to head straight to her room to sleep off her stress, but something inside her compelled her to say something to Master Beng. Whether out of irritation or determination, Mika didn’t know; the words just slipped naturally out of her mouth.

“In two years, I’m going to enter the Selection of Sixteen.” And with those words, she stormed off to bed, leaving Master Beng at the door.