“Oh, the hell with it,” Rendal declared.
He flicked his fingers dismissively, and the girl flew against the wall. She hit it hard, knocking off picture frames.
The girl slid to the ground, her eyes blinking lazily. She sat like that for a minute and then fell to her left, unconscious.
Rendal turned to one of the other couches in the Prefect’s office. “Drain her and get the setup ready for tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.”
Harold didn’t leave as Rendal sat down. “What else is there?”
“The Prefect’s advisors. They’re making noise. They’re not buying what he’s telling them,” Harold answered.
Rendal looked at the Prefect. “Aw, hell, Harold. Did you see this?”
Slidell had pissed himself. He was standing in the corner, and a dark stain spread across his crotch.
“No, sir. I’ve been dealing with the brat.”
“Well, get him fucking cleaned up too.” Rendal was pissed. Problems everywhere he looked. “What about these damn advisors?”
“We’re going to have to deal with them,” Harold told the mage. “The Prefect… It’s up to you, sir, whether he’s going to be able to handle such a conversation.”
The man stared blankly out at the room, not hearing them.
Rendal sighed. “He’s deep in the hypnosis. It may be time to simply replace them.”
“You?”
“No, Harold,” Rendal sneered. “With Belarus. Just get these two out of here and leave me in peace.”
“Yes, sir,” Harold responded quickly.
He commanded the Prefect to follow him and threw the girl over his shoulder.
Mason slowly sat up on the couch. His throat was swollen and red.
“Mason, it’s just you and me now,” Rendal jested, lying down and stretching his legs out.
“Sounds like things are getting too big for you to handle, master mage.”
“Sounds like you just need to listen a little closer,” Rendal rebuked the Assistant Prefect. “Tomorrow the kingdom changes, and maybe your friends die, too.”
William and Brighten stood in the crowd. William was massive, but he wore a hooded cloak that hung all the way to his feet. The boy practically disappeared in his wake.
No one was looking at the two of them. The world was focused on the stage up front.
It was empty as of yet, but the announcement had gone far and wide.
A traitor.
A spy.
Discovered within Sidnie’s own people.
“That’s her,” William had remarked the moment he heard.
“She’s no damn traitor!” Brighten had shouted.
“Calm yourself, boy,” William responded. “I know she ain’t a traitor, but that’s what Rendal is gonna call her. That’s what he’s setting up with all this.”
“What’s gonna happen to her?” Brighten had asked.
“May kill her. May be setting us up,” the big man concluded. “Can’t say just yet.”
The two had come to the front of the castle. A massive stage had been constructed, standing five feet above everyone.
Stocks had been set up in the middle of it.
“What’s that mean?” Brighten whispered as the two slowly made their way through the crowd.
“Son, do I look like a damned mind reader?” William asked without looking down. The cloak mostly hid the broadsword on his back, but not completely.
“No, but have you seen anything like this before? What happens?”
William kept walking, not slowing. He needed to get closer to the stage if he were going to be able to stop anything.
“Usually, with a block like this in such a public place, it means beheading,” he answered.
“Be-whatting?” The boy reached for William’s arm, trying to pull him to a stop.
William growled but halted, then looked down.
“We can’t let them hurt her,” Brighten whispered sharply.
William wanted to keep moving forward. He wasn’t good with this kind of stuff; he didn’t have kids and didn’t want them, but the boy was freaking out.
He squatted down, his massive frame coming even with Brighten.
“Why do you think we’re here, kid? For our health? Did you need to walk to keep your heart in shape?”
Brighten shook his head and William grinned at him.
“Hell, no. Your heart is in tip-top shape, and my heart’s the strongest thing in this damned kingdom. We’re here because we’re not gonna let anything happen to your smart-mouthed friend, all right?”
Brighten nodded, although he still looked scared.
“It’s your job to keep your eyes peeled and your senses alert,” William continued. “You leave the fightin’ to me. Ain’t nobody in this kingdom going to hurt me, you, or her. Now get some steel in your spine and let’s be heroes.”
“Heroes?”
“Hell, yes. Heroes, kid. Whatcha think we’re in this for?” William grinned. “Glory.”
He stood up and started moving forward again.
A few minutes later, Sidnie’s Prefect walked out onto the stage.
“Thank you…all for coming.”
William chuckled. “Something’s definitely wrong with that man.”
No one in the crowd could think anything different. The man wasn’t quite drooling on himself, but he looked close to it. His voice was almost disembodied, completely separate from the person speaking.
“That’s not the Prefect,” Brighten said.
“Whatcha mean?” William didn’t look away from the stage. He hadn’t taken his sword out but was ready the moment it needed to happen.
“I mean, it looks like him, but that’s not the man everyone here knows. It’s some kind of weird replacement.” Brighten sounded like he was almost in awe of what he was seeing.
“That’s the mage’s work, boy. Be ready.”
“I want…to introduce you…to my newest…advisor. He is head of…of…of…”
“The magic school!” another voice boomed from behind the stage.
William knew who it was. Fuckin’ Rendal.
Sure enough, the mage walked onto the stage. “Thank you very much for that introduction, Prefect Slidell.”
“You’re…welcome,” the Prefect forced out before shuffling off stage.
“I’d like to introduce myself and tell you all a bit more about the magic school you’ve all heard of. It’s founding certainly wasn’t decided on a whim. The Prefect definitely didn’t want to shut down all the independent teachers, but there’s been a serious development.”
The mage’s face grew grave.
“Your Prefect contacted me after discovering the development, and he was wise to do so. My name is Rendal Hemmons, and I’m a master mage in a way that even Prefect Slidell has not achieved. That’s not a slight on your great leader, only the truth. That’s why he brought me here.”
The crowd grew quieter around William, and he thought he understood why. The mage was using his skills to transfer fear. The crowd believed him, even after only a few words.
“We’ve found a spy. A traitor to Sidnie.”
Complete and total silence. If William took a single step forward, it would be noticed.
The mage continued, “Across the Badlands is a kingdom called New Perth. You’ve heard of it, no?”
“We know ‘em!” someone shouted, real anger in his voice.
“They’re the ones who flipped this person. This youthful person. I wanted to try to save her, to flip her back to Sidnie, but…it isn’t possible.”
The mage looked down at his feet.
“She’s too far gone, and we imagine she’s given an unfathomable amount of information to New Perth. She was caught inside the castle, and do you know what she was looking for?”
Rendal looked up.
“Blueprints. The plans to the very building that houses our Prefect and our nobles.”
“WHO?” someone screamed. “WHO DID IT?”
>
“Would you like to see her?” the mage whispered, but the noise rolled across everyone as if he’d screamed it.
“SHOW HER!”
“GIVE US THE TRAITOR!”
“Bring her out,” Rendal commanded.
William saw movement behind the stage, and someone tossed Kris out onto the wooden platform.
She looked at the crowd, ferocity in her eyes.
“This is her,” the mage called out. “The traitor. The one who came to steal the blueprints and give them to the enemy!”
Rendal stepped forward, not looking at Kris.
“What should we do to her?”
“She’s a traitor!” someone shouted.
“Put her in prison!”
“Kill her!”
William felt the boy pulling on his cloak. He looked down at him. “This isn’t normal. People shouldn’t be shouting like this. It’s not how Sidnie works.”
“I know.” William nodded and looked back up. The mage was doing something to these citizens.
“There are more traitors, though,” the mage declared. “Some are here with us now, right in this crowd.”
“He knows,” Brighten whispered.
William only shook his head, but he saw people looking around. At their friends, their family, their neighbors.
“Come forth, traitors, and we will save this girl’s life. Otherwise, she’ll be sentenced to death.”
William kept his head high, staring right at Rendal. He didn’t think the mage had spotted him yet.
He looked down at Brighten. “Ready to be heroes?”
The kid swallowed but nodded.
“Go around to the back of the stage. When it’s time, I want you to run onto it, okay?” William asked.
“How will I know when it’s time?”
William grinned. “Trust me, you’ll know. Now go!”
The kid dashed off. William looked at the mage, still standing at the edge of the platform.
“Riley,” William whispered to himself. “I’m gonna need you to learn this damned magic so I have some help over here.”
He stepped forward, dropping his cloak and revealing the massive broadsword hanging on his back.
“Hey, Rendal!” he shouted. “I’m no traitor, but I’ll save that girl all the same!”
Kris grinned as she turned to the mage. “I told you. You’re fucked now.”
Chapter Fourteen
Riley watched the queen walk farther out into the sand.
Worth sat to her left, his diminishing bag of wine between his legs.
Rachel and Thomas were to her right, both silent. Riley knew they didn’t trust her or Worth, but she didn’t care. They didn’t matter. Only the queen—Alexandra—mattered.
Another day had passed, and Riley was dying to learn something, anything, but the queen had insisted they all rest yesterday. Now, they’d ventured out of the tunnels into the Badlands.
“The problem isn’t you, Riley,” Alexandra stated as she turned around. “It’s what you’ve been taught.”
“What do you mean?” Riley asked.
“What do you know about magic?” the queen responded.
Riley didn’t hesitate. “It’s dangerous. It can hurt people if it’s not controlled, and most people can’t control it.”
“See?” Alexandra smiled.
Riley’s brow furrowed. “I...”
“You didn’t even realize you believed that so completely, did you?”
Riley shook her head.
“So, no wonder you can’t activate your magic. You have a mental block against it, Riley. You’ve been taught it’s dangerous. You’re a good person, so why would you use it?”
Riley was dumbfounded.
“She stubborn,” Worth interjected. “Very stubborn. Need better student!”
Riley looked over and saw Worth grinning. “Maybe I just needed a better teacher.”
“Aye, Worth best teacher, betcha. Best in all the world. Brought you to underground people, didn’t he?”
Riley glanced at the queen, knowing that he’d used a derogatory term.
She only rolled her eyes, then said, “Focus, Riley.”
Riley nodded.
“To gain access to your magic, you’ll have to break down the wall your mind’s created. It’s not your teachers. It’s not your enemies. It’s you.”
“But how do I outwit my own mind?” Riley asked.
“You don’t want to outwit your mind. You want to show it that it’s been taught false things,” Alexandra answered.
“I mean, I know that logically. I’ve seen Worth. I’ve seen William. Hell, I’ve seen myself use magic in good ways, but my mind isn’t listening.” Riley looked at Worth for agreement.
The tent man only stared out into the desert as if he hadn’t heard anything she’d said.
“We’re not talking about logic here.” The queen took a step closer. “We’re talking about understanding. We’re really talking about faith.”
Riley looked at her.
“I live beneath the ground in tunnels built by people long dead in the middle of a desert. I do it because I have faith that someone is coming to move the world forward.” Alexandra smiled. “I fully understand how crazy that looks to the outside world. Thomas and Rachel know it looks crazy too. We don’t care. We have faith.”
She nodded at Riley.
“You have no faith in magic, only in your sword. You need faith.”
“How do I get it?” Riley asked.
“Lie down,” the queen commanded.
Riley looked down. “Here? In the sand?”
“If you see some water, you may lie in that instead,” Alexandra offered. “I don’t see any, though, so the sand might have to suffice.”
She winked at Riley.
“You’re as bad as Worth,” Riley remarked. She sat down on the ground, then laid back so that she was staring at the cloudless sky. “Still not feeling any faith.”
“See what Worth mean?” he called from the side. “She so stubborn.”
“Worth, you keep it up, you’re gonna feel my boot right in your ass.” Riley grinned.
“Focus,” the queen demanded. “Close your eyes.”
Riley did.
“Now I want you to start thinking about the good things magic can give you,” Alexandra directed. “See them, Riley. See them as if you’re living them.”
“Like what?” Riley didn’t fully understand.
“What can magic give you right now that nothing else can?” the queen asked.
Riley closed her eyes.
What can magic give me? she wondered. Why am I here? Why am I trying so hard to learn all this?
The answers were simple.
Mason.
New Perth, the kingdom she loved.
“What can magic give you?” the queen asked. “See it, Riley. Let your mind feel it.”
Riley went back to the compound, to the battle where Rendal took Mason.
She didn’t focus on what actually happened, but on what she wanted to happen. Riley saw Rendal holding Mason, the mage’s shoulder injured. Fire blazing from someone to her left.
But instead of coming for him with a blade, fire swept from Riley’s hands. It moved in a blazing tornado, and it wrapped around the dark mage’s legs, burning him.
He released Mason.
“That’s good.” The queen spoke softly. “But magic isn’t just for vengeance, Riley. That’s part of the same false beliefs you’ve been fed. Think about the good that can spring from it.”
The good? Riley wondered.
New Perth. She went there. Mason was home. Worth was there with his remaining clan. William.
She saw kids playing in the street, but instead of toys rolling around on the ground, they were flying in the air.
Riley heard the kids’ laughter.
She saw the head doctor standing over a sick person, but instead of his instruments, he used only his hands. He was healing them. With magic.
&n
bsp; Riley saw William training future warriors. Flames and electricity flowed from their hands, their eyes red. They weren’t angry, though. They were righteous fighters. They would only fight on the side of good.
“You see, Riley?” Alexandra whispered. “Those are things you want. Those are things that will help all of New Perth.”
Riley nodded, still watching the images in her mind.
“But you can only have them if you believe in them. You can only use magic if you believe it’ll bring good, not pain.”
Riley’s hands dug into the sand.
She saw herself kneeling in front of Mason, eyes red, ready to do his will. Her magic was his magic because she served him.
Her magic was New Perth’s magic.
And wasn’t that the point of all this?
“YEEEEESSS!”
Worth’s shout broke Riley’s concentration. She was rising to her feet, her eyes open and her sword free of its sheath before she realized what was happening.
Worth was dancing around, shaking his hands at the sky.
Riley spun to Alexandra.
The queen was smiling, but Riley didn’t understand.
“Is it her?” Thomas asked from behind. Riley had forgotten he and Rachel were there. She turned to them, and that was when she finally saw.
A circle of fire burned around her feet. She hadn’t seen it because she’d been focused on Worth’s scream.
It encircled her, the flames reaching as high as her ankles.
“I’m not doing that,” Riley whispered.
“You magic!” Worth shouted at her.
“If not you, then who?” the queen asked.
Riley glanced at her. “You. Them. I don’t know, but it’s not me.”
“Are any of our eyes red, Riley?” Alexandra responded. “Because yours are.”
Riley looked down at the flames.
“They haven’t gone out, and you’re not in any danger.” The queen stepped a bit closer. “Go on. You can control them.”
Riley realized she could. She realized that the fire she saw at her feet was the same as her sword—something she would control as its master.
She squatted down and gently placed a finger above a single flame. It reached up and licked her skin but didn’t burn her.
Hand of Justice Boxed Set (Books 1 - 4): The Dark Mage, Chasing Magic, Magic Rising, Magic Unchained Page 37