章 18: Demon Tax
Kir and his moms arrived at the gate to Norneau, only to find themselves at the end of a long line of carts waiting to get in.
Even so, he got a great view of the city from the side, and Brigit pointed out that the large structure on top of the promontory was the Academy he would be going to. Beneath it spread a massive lake that made the city unassailable by land on three sides.
The Academy was a castle, built with white-painted stone and towering over twenty five stories tall, if Kir's counting of the windows was correct. It had four massive towers representing what Kir thought of as the Classical elements - Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire.
Twelve bridges represented the interactions between each element, eight of which connected to the largest tower at the center of the formation, which was where the cafeteria, dorms, libraries, and facilities were housed. Lessons would occur in the elemental towers, and even from this distance Kir could see some of the classrooms had open-faces, or perhaps invisible bricks, so that students could learn in sunlight.
Kir wasn't about to memorize the names of all the bridges though, so he focused on determining which cart was Lugh's so he would know how long he had to wait for trouble.
He also turned the token Lugh had dropped over in his hand, lightly crushing it between his fingers as he tried not to fidget too much.
The last thing he wanted was for his moms to have to worry that he had an enemy. It made him wish that Lugh had confronted him directly so he could, to paraphrase Darlae, end the fight.
Hopefully, he would be done with his exam soon and Lugh would become a distant memory.
Each exam for Academy entry occurred on the fifth week of every quarterly month. Arriving with three days to spare wasn't a lot of time in his book, but it meant he wouldn't have long to wait for his results.
Assuming nothing bad happened, he could take the first day off with his moms to shop and study, the second day to take the exam, and the third day to receive his results.
He still would register early though, because Brigit mentioned during the caravan trip that she "May have forgotten to mention his heritage when she acquired permission to sponsor him as her apprentice."
As they neared the gates over the next two hours, Kir didn't spot Lugh's carriage, which made him nervous.
One thing worse than a patient enemy was a patient enemy you couldn't keep your eye on.
He noticed just before his moms rolled up to the gate that the token in his hand had been reduced to just the core stone, the sweat on his fingers cleaning it to a slightly polished shine.
He popped the red stone into his mouth and crunched into it, feeling a bit of relief as its warmth spread into his chest.
"What have we got here," the first guard, a portly human man, said in a tone that was definitely not all business as it finally became his family's turn. "You ladies know there's a demonkin in your cart?"
"Of course we know. He's our son," Darlae said, her tone challenging.
"And where are you women from?" the guard asked.
"Darlbridge," Brigit said. "I'm Brigit Gale and this is Darlae. Our son back there is Kir."
"Darlbridge? All the way out in the boonies?" The guard snorted. "Getting all sorts in here today, I tell ya," he turned to his fellow guard, another human man but lanky and more than a little greasy looking.
The lanky guard whispered loudly, "How do two women get a demonkin for a brat? Something's off, chief."
"He's adopted," Darlae almost-snarled, making the lanky guard shut up.
"You got papers?" The first guard asked when he turned back to them.
"Here," Brigit said snippily, extracting several folded documents from her purse, which the portly guard took and perused lightly.
"Big titles there, Heroine of Faerlake. Battlemage," He folded the papers back and handed them to her. "You two are good to enter. Your brat will have to wait with us while we get a likeness. Helps when he causes trouble."
"What?" Darlae asked.
"New policy. Word is the Devils are marshaling for war. Every half-breed or horn head has gotta get their picture drawn. 'Specially if they got wings." The guard said with a smug grin. "Unless you pay the, ah, Demon Tax."
"I'm not paying any special tax just to get our son in this city," Darlae replied.
"Oh really? Because word is there's a bad demon boy in the mix coming from out country. Good citizen warned us, didn't he Naby?"
"Right he did," the lanky guard answered.
Kir fumed. This was extortion. And he had a pretty good idea who the "good citizen" was.
"Me, I'm thinking, your boy might be a bad one. Means we should take extra time getting his likeness, right?" The portly guard turned to his companion, who replied affirmatively.
"How much is your bloody tax?" Brigit asked.
The guard thought for a moment, rolling his tongue in his cheek. "Five gold. Looks like you can afford it."
"That's highway robbery!" Darlae nearly shouted, putting her hand on her battle staff that rested across her lap.
The guard noticed this. "Try that, ma'am, and there's no way you lot are getting into this city ever. Decide now, there's a line I gotta move."
Brigit placed a calming hand on Darlae's shoulder. "Dar, we don't have time. Let's just pay-"
"Don't," Kir finally spoke up. "I'll let them take my picture."
The guard looked disappointed, especially when Kir handed off his knives and purse to his moms and hopped out of the carriage.
"Kir, are you sure?" Brigit asked.
"It's fine. I'm not out to cause trouble," he said, knowing that his likeness could very much be used to cause him trouble. He'd had a lot of time for memories of the prejudices of Earth to resurface in his mind, so he wasn't unprepared to think about how he could be harassed by the law.
"Come find us at the Madame Dragon," Brigit said, wiping her eyes as the guards finally waved them through.
They'd just turned their backs when the portly guard punched Kir in the stomach.
"You cost me five gold," he accused, before shoving Kir towards the door to the guard house. "Get in there."
Kir was so tempted to fight back, but instead, he feigned pain, despite the punch not hurting him much at all, as he walked forward and opened the door.
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