Gavin took one step forward and all joviality and camaraderie vanished from his expression. “That is the second time you’ve questioned an order from the Archmagister. You have one more chance to deliver the correct response.”
“What is the correct response…uhm, sir?” the Inquisitor on Gavin’s right asked.
Gavin sighed and shook his head. “The correct response is, ‘Yes, milord’ or ‘Yes, sir,’ and you then carry out that order with all haste. As of this moment and until further notice, I am taking over this case. There will be no Inquisitors stationed at this door, and none—aside from Reyna—will enter these quarters without my expressed permission. Now, leave.”
The two Inquisitors shared another glance before they stepped aside and left. Gavin was not pleased, but he had other matters requiring his attention.
He reached out and placed his hand against the door, clearing his mind of all thoughts and feelings beyond his intent. A clear picture of what he wanted formed in his mind and he invoked a Word of Tutation, “Sykhurhos.”
Instantly, Gavin felt the resonance of his power slam into the ambient magic, twisting reality so that it conformed to his desire. Alanna Veldin’s quarters were now warded against all people or creatures. No one except Alanna Veldin, Reyna, or himself could even place a toe inside her space, and if she left without either Gavin or Reyna, Veldin would be tagged with an arcane beacon that would resonate with both Gavin and Reyna. The only outward sign of the warding were two glyphs on the door at Gavin’s eye level that pulsed with light. The first was a Glyph of Tutation, and the second was the Glyph of Kirloth.
Gavin waited, leaning against the far wall in the hallway until Reyna emerged. When Reyna did emerge, Gavin righted himself and approached her.
“I want to know everything about that boy and his family. There’s something between them and Alanna Veldin we don’t know.”
Chapter 28
Gavin entered the reception area of the Inquisitors’ offices and saw Reyna’s door was closed. It struck him as odd, since he and Reyna had a meeting scheduled. The other Inquisitor saw Gavin arrive and jumped to his feet, hustling to greet the Archmagister.
Before he could get his obsequiousness wound up, Gavin pointed to Reyna’s door, asking, “Is everything all right? Reyna and I had an appointment.”
The Inquisitor shook his head. His expression looked remorseful, but there was too much underlying glee. “Well, it seems the rising star managed to fall afoul of a superior. They’ve been in there quite a while.”
There was always the chance he was wrong, but Gavin suspected he knew just how Reyna had fallen afoul, and quite likely who had had a hand in it. But then again, the ease with which Gavin suspected this oily sycophant of malfeasance could just be rooted in his own utter dislike of the man. Without waiting for any further comment, Gavin strode to the door and opened it wide.
“Just who—” Whatever the man was about to say vanished as he took in Gavin and his gold robe. The man’s eyes widened, and his jaw worked in silence for several moments. Gavin thought he saw the man glance back out to the reception area, but that could have just been bias on his part. Stepping into the room, Gavin slammed the door closed behind him, his eyes fixed on the red-faced man in Inquisitor garb.
“And just what is happening here?” Gavin asked.
The man stammered incoherently, but Reyna was more than happy to explain, saying, “Oh, it seems I’ve been both demoted and fired, and possibly brought up on charges that would result in naming me a renegade. Apparently, my assertion that you had taken over the Veldin case was an obvious lie to cover up my bias in favor of the woman, and even now, I’m supposedly working on some harebrained scheme to smuggle her out of the city. I think that’s everything, but I might be wrong. He repeated himself quite a bit while he was ranting.” The man shot her a look that seemed to accuse her of betrayal as well, but Reyna just smirked. “What? You didn’t honestly expect me to be loyal to you after you’ve spent the entire morning in here vilifying me, did you? You’re so firmly in the wrong I doubt you could even see the right with a spyglass on high ground.”
The man’s jaw worked some more, but before he could find his voice, Gavin said, “This is all very odd to me. It seems like the simplest of matters to verify her story. If I were indeed taking over the Veldin case, why didn’t you come to me and ask? Either she’s lying and you’re justified, or she isn’t, and you save yourself some trouble. Oh…and in case you haven’t pieced together the puzzle yet, trouble is just about all you have right now. I have indeed taken over the Veldin case, and you’ve been browbeating a subordinate over nothing.” Gavin leaned forward just enough to make eye contact with Reyna. “You have his name?”
“Oh, yes, sir,” Reyna replied, smiling.
“Well then,” Gavin resumed, “it’s time you were on your way. Feel free to expect a summons at some point in the not-too-distant future. You’ve earned yourself a note on my mental corkboard, and I’ll circle back around to it once we’ve sorted out the Veldin matter.” The man looked a little wild around his eyes now, but Gavin merely smiled. “Yes, of course; by all means, run. It won’t do you any good at all, but it will occupy your time until I’m ready for you. Now—leave. You’ve tied up enough of our attention as it is.”
Gavin shifted to one side of the office to allow the man unrestricted access to the door. He stood motionless for several moments but abruptly jerked into motion. He was out the door and gone with almost unseemly haste. Gavin saw the other Inquisitor still standing in the reception area where he’d left him, and simply raised one eyebrow questioningly. The Inquisitor flinched and hustled back to his office.
Gavin regarded the empty reception area for a moment and turned back to Reyna and asked, “Do you have everything gathered for our meeting?”
Reyna nodded. “Yes, sir. I found some…”
Reyna’s voice trailed off as Gavin lifted his hand and said, “I no longer feel that these offices are the best place to conduct our business. Gather what you need and come with me.”
A few minutes later, Gavin led Reyna out of a portal to the Citadel. They walked down the main hall and up one flight of stairs to the study he’d claimed as an office. Once inside, Gavin invited Reyna to spread out her materials on the desk and pick whichever seat suited her.
Reyna was just about to sit when awareness of where she was made its way into her mind. “Is…is this the Citadel?”
Gavin nodded.
Reyna almost wilted into her seat. “Yeah…this is secure all right.”
Hartley chose that moment to materialize at her elbow, and Reyna almost jumped out of her seat when he said, “May I offer some refreshment, Milord?”
Gavin looked up from his perusal of the documents Reyna had laid out and thought he detected a hint of amusement on the specter’s face. Ah, well…everyone needed to find their joy where they could, even specters who’d been dead for millennia.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to some tea,” Gavin remarked. “How about you, Reyna?”
The Inquisitor still looked a little startled, but she rallied. “I would enjoy something, thank you.”
“Full service, Milord, or just the tea?” Hartley asked.
“Breakfast service, I think,” Gavin replied. “I slipped out before you could sit me down for food.”
“I did notice that, sir,” Hartley remarked as he faded away.
Reyna looked all around, as if expecting the specter to re-appear and startle her again.
Gavin smiled. “Don’t worry. The tea trolly rattles and jingles, so you’ll hear him coming. Besides, it’ll be a little bit, I think. They’ll probably dig up a small selection of pastries and breakfast foods. So, what did you find?”
Reyna cleared her throat, stood, and went to the desk. She proceeded to take Gavin through everything she’d found about the family of the boy Veldin had attacked. The boy’s father had been a Fifth Tier student at the College at the same time Veldin was enrolled, and one of
the papers Reyna uncovered showed the boy’s father was among a group of Fifth Tiers who had been reprimanded for their conduct toward younger students. As she was showing Gavin the report, her eyes stopped on the list of students.
“What is it?” Gavin asked, watching as Reyna stared at the parchment.
She pointed to a name on the list. “That’s the Inquisitor supervisor you ran out of my office.”
“Oh, my…isn’t that interesting,” Gavin remarked.
“This is all I’ve been able to find, though,” Reyna said. “There’s nothing in any of the archives that would connect the boy’s family to Veldin beyond her current class roster.”
“I’ve seen the reaction Veldin expressed with me before, Reyna,” Gavin said, “and I fear I know the connection between the boy’s family and Veldin. It’s not fair, however, to voice my suspicions without proof, but there’s one place we haven’t searched for records. Grab that report of the father’s reprimand, and come with me. Hartley!”
The specter appeared at once. “Yes, Milord?”
“Cancel the tea and breakfast, I’m afraid,” Gavin answered. “Reyna and I are off to the Temple.”
“Very well, Milord,” the specter replied, practically frowning. “The kettle isn’t quite boiling yet.”
* * *
Gavin opened a gateway directly to the Temple rather than deal with the crowds in the city’s streets. The acolyte staffing the reception desk looked a little unsettled when Gavin and Reyna stepped through, but Gavin was past caring. Besides, it could easily be that the acolyte had never seen a magical gateway before. Without missing a beat, Gavin turned and led Reyna into the Temple, paying the acolyte no mind besides a smile and brief hello
It took them a short while, but Gavin eventually found Ovir in one of the classrooms on the third floor of the Temple. The moment Ovir saw the Archmagister and an Inquisitor standing outside the classroom, he hurriedly finished what he was saying and gave the students an assignment before dismissing the class.
“Good day, Milord,” Ovir said as he approached Gavin.
Gavin lifted an eyebrow. “You’ve never called me ‘Milord’ before, Ovir.”
“Yes, well, you were always alone before.”
Gavin grinned. “Reyna is one of Mariana’s friends. She met me before I accepted this. She hasn’t quite worked herself back to Gavin yet, but we’ve established a truce on ‘sir.’”
“Ah, well then. What do you need, Gavin?”
Turning to Reyna, Gavin asked. “What was the date on that reprimand?”
Reyna pulled the parchment from her pocket and examined it before answering, “Seventeenth of Kandilah, 6070.”
“Ovir, I need to examine the sick room records for any women brought in who exhibited the symptoms of sexual assault for…oh, say, five months prior to that date.”
Reyna blinked. “You think she was raped?”
“I’m almost certain of it,” Gavin replied. “She acts very similar to Kiri when I first met her and Lillian the night after Sivas attacked her.”
Ovir looked from Gavin to Reyna and back again. “And you believe she was brought here?”
“Or came on her own, but yes,” Gavin answered.
“The sick room records are kept in the basement level below the sick rooms. I shall accompany you.” When Gavin started to speak, Ovir shook his head. “The sick room records are kept sealed to all except sick room staff. You’ll need me to gain access to them.”
“Even the Archmagister isn’t permitted to view those records?” Gavin asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Ovir shook his head. “No one who hasn’t taken the Healer’s Oath is even allowed on the floor, and there have been a few Royal Priests and Archmagisters who’ve almost come to blows over it. In all truth, I probably shouldn’t even be compromising in this instance, but you have that look about you.”
“‘That look?’ What look?”
“The headstrong knight errant charging to right a grievous injustice.”
Gavin blinked and turned to Reyna. “I don’t look like that, do I?”
Reyna responded with a weak grimace and a nod, saying, “Yes, sir, you kind of do. Not all the time, though, just when you’re thinking of the case.”
Gavin heaved a sigh. “Maybe I should get a white warhorse and some armor, then.”
“The armor wouldn’t suit you,” Reyna countered, her expression mock serious, “but white horses are pretty.”
Ovir snorted a chuckle and started toward the stairs.
* * *
The records-keepers gave Ovir more than one disbelieving look as he led Gavin and Reyna into their domain, and it took a bit of talking from Ovir to get them on board and not just override them. What ultimately sealed their cooperation was when Gavin stepped forward and outlined everything, even the details of the Inquisitor case that Reyna probably would not have disclosed to anyone not involved with the investigation.
The records-keepers looked to one another, and the lead for the current shift said, “Milord, the search we need to perform will take some time. Are you certain you want to wait?”
Gavin turned to Reyna, who shrugged and said, “I have nothing pressing on me, but you’re the Archmagister, sir. What other necessary work will go neglected if you wait here?”
Gavin heaved another sigh. “You know, I almost miss being just Kirloth. Do you mind waiting for them to conduct the search?”
“Not at all, sir,” Reyna replied. “The moment there’s any news, I’ll find you.”
“I’ll be in the Citadel,” Gavin answered, “and as soon as I arrive, I’ll add you to the list of people who can teleport directly there.”
Reyna’s eyes widened. “Sir, not even the Magisters have that authority. I don’t know that it’s necessary.”
Gavin held back from giving her the full glare. “I don’t want to wait any longer than is absolutely necessary for this information, and besides, Valera and Kantar are the only Magisters I trust to have the authority to teleport directly to the Citadel; they’re already on the list. Now, please come straight there as soon as you learn anything.”
Without another word, Gavin invoked the Word of Transmutation and created an archway of crackling, sapphire energy. The moment it was an actual Gateway, he vanished through it.
Chapter 29
It was something of a relief when a messenger arrived at the inn serving as Lillian’s and Mariana’s ersatz base of operations in Pretty Rock. Lillian and Mariana wasted no time changing into attire suitable for meeting with a head of state and followed the messenger through the crowds to Chieftain’s Seat.
The building referred to as Chieftain’s Seat was something of a rotunda, similar to, but not exactly like the cupola where the dracon Council of Clans met. The messenger led them to the very heart of the structure, a massive room where the leader of the giants awaited them.
Stepping into the space, Lillian and Mariana saw a giantess occupying the central seat. If she’d been human, her general looks and hair would’ve suggested being early middle age, but neither Lillian nor Mariana were precisely certain how giants’ looks changed over time to know for certain.
“Chieftain,” the messenger announced in a hall-filling voice, “I present Lillian of House Mivar and Mariana of House Cothos, accredited emissaries of the Archmagister of Tel.”
“I bid thee greetings,” the giantess intoned, “and offer the full welcome and hospitality of my people.”
“Thank you,” Lillian replied. “The people of your city and realm have been nothing but kind and welcoming.”
The giantess nodded. “Well, now that the formalities are over, what can you tell me about your new Archmagister? Word hadn’t reached us yet that Bellos had left His seclusion.”
Lillian and Mariana smiled, Mariana answering, “The person chosen as the new Archmagister is actually a friend of ours. His name is Gavin Cross, and he is Head of House Kirloth. It also happens that Lillian and I were two of his first apprentices.”
The giantess’s expression betrayed her surprise. “Apprentices, you say? As was in the old ways?”
“Yes, er, how should we address you?” Lillian asked.
“The appropriate mode of address is ‘Chieftain,’ the giantess replied. “It is our custom that, during one’s tenure as Chieftain, we set aside our identity to better act in the best interests of the people.”
“Thank you, Chieftain,” Lillian said, “and yes, we were his apprentices as in the old ways.”
“And was he a graduate of the College?” Chieftain asked.
Mariana shook her head. “No, Chieftain. Gavin himself is a former apprentice. His mentor was the black-robe known as Marcus, who has since been identified as the Kirloth who dueled Milthas.”
Complete and utter silence descended on the chamber as every giant present stared at Lillian and Mariana.
“To be clear,” Chieftain said, “the Archmagister is a wizard trained not just by a wizard, but Kirloth, the founder of both the Kingdom of Tel and the Society of the Arcane? And you were in turn trained by him?”
“Yes, Chieftain,” Lillian answered.
“And what does he seek in sending you to speak with me?”
“Gavin…er, the Archmagister seeks to rebuild the relationships enjoyed by the members of the old alliance,” Lillian said. “There was a time in ages past when we were all close allies, trading partners, and friends. The Archmagister would see us return to that. He knows it will not be an easy journey, but he feels it is a journey all of us would be well-served to take.”
Chieftain smiled. “I do think your slip speaks more of the man than the fact that Bellos chose him.”
Lillian blushed, and Mariana spoke, hoping to draw the focus away from Lillian and her embarrassment, “It’s true. Gavin doesn’t like people kneeling to him. He doesn’t approach the world as being any better than any of the rest of us. It just so happens that he’s agreed to what is probably one of the most difficult jobs in the world.”
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