Bronze Magic

by Jennifer Ealey

  “It’s going to be cold tonight. I hope you have something warm to put on. I can lend you something of mine if you like, but it won’t fit very well.”

  “Thank you, but I do have a cloak. In the same drab colouring as the rest of these clothes.”

  “Ah well, as long as it keeps you warm.” The blonde-headed sorcerer looked up into the clear night sky. “You know, whatever you two did to that storm blew it right away.” He turned to look at the prince. “That was a lot of power I saw there. Either your wizard is unbelievably strong or you have become more powerful or both. You couldn’t have done anything like that a month ago.”

  Tarkyn glanced sideways at him, wondering how much to tell him. “I have unearthed some talents I was unaware of, under the tutelage of Stormaway Treemaster.”

  The guardsman rubbed a patch of dirt he could see on the black of his pants as he continued, “And why did you send all that power up into the clouds? Why didn’t you just let the storm run its natural course?”

  Tarkyn began to feel he was heading into deep water. “Stormaway was teaching me how the storm worked and how to control it.” The prince stood up and Danton immediately rose to his feet also. “I think we had better get something to eat and think about bedding down for the night. It will be warmer back under the trees,” said Tarkyn, thinking longingly that it would be warmer still in his shelter.

  “You know, Your Highness, I think you should be careful about using your magic. Your bronze magic shining high into the clouds is what alerted me to your presence here.”

  Tarkyn grimaced. “You may be right. I’ll have to use it very circumspectly when it might be seen. Still, I would have had to risk it today anyway.” As soon as he said it, the prince knew he had said more than he wanted to.

  The blonde guardsman frowned, “So it wasn’t just a lesson?” Danton stole a look at the prince’s face and gave a short, bitter laugh. “Your Highness, just tell me if you don’t want me to know something. I can read your face like a book. Perhaps I should ask you fewer questions for the time being. I don’t really need to know, I’m just curious. So it can wait until you’re more sure of me.”

  Tarkyn smiled. “I am truly sorry to be so uncertain, Danton. It is difficult to feel safe in my present circumstances.” Although it was fine before you came along, he thought. I’ll have to repair this. If he thinks I don’t trust him, we’ll never trap him if we need to. “Anyway, having come this far, I might as well tell you what I can. Stormaway thought that someone had created the storm and it looked as if it was going to lead to widespread flooding. So we decided to counteract it.”

  “So who would go to the trouble of creating such a storm?” asked Danton. “Whoops. I beg your pardon. There I go again. Asking questions.”

  The prince shook his head. “Don’t worry. You can ask, although in this case I don’t know the answer except to say it may have something to do with that encampment in the west.”

  His friend looked at him. “I thought you hadn’t been to this gathering, my lord. How do you know it’s an encampment?”

  Tarkyn shrugged, “People have spoken about it. Stormaway is good at gathering information, you know.”

  They arrived back into the shelter of the trees. Stormaway had set out wine and a small feast on a mat on the ground. Warm bedding had appeared and had been set up to one side. Danton’s knives were still in a neat pile a short distance away. Danton’s eyes roved idly over them but he said nothing. Stormaway appeared to have imbibed a few glasses already and smoothly took over the conversation, giving Tarkyn a rest from skating on thin ice. Finally the time came to bed down. Stormaway wove his way to his heap of bedding and made a big business of lying down and getting comfortable before apparently dropping off to sleep, mid slurred sentence.

  Tarkyn intended to stay awake, but after the effort of the magic and all the ensuing issues he had had to deal with, he fell asleep almost immediately. In the darkness, Danton waited motionlessly. He listened carefully to the rhythmic breathing of the sorcerer and wizard lying beside him. Then, quietly, he rose in one fluid movement and slid through the dark to his pile of knives. After a furtive look around, he quickly replaced the knives into their various sheaths around his body. Four woodmen watched him intently.

  Danton straightened up and scanned the trees around and above him. Then he glided silently into the gloom of the surrounding forest. Slowly he worked his way through the trees around the sleeping prince, stopping every few yards to listen and look around. When he had made a full circumference, he returned to stand motionlessly over Tarkyn, looking down at him. Beneath him, Tarkyn suddenly jerked but appeared to remain asleep. Danton shook his head, scanned the trees again and heaved a quiet sigh. He bent down, quietly extracted his blanket from next to the prince and then sat himself against a tree, wrapping the blanket around himself.

  All through the long hours of the night, he kept vigil. Every so often, he would repeat his circuit of the surrounding woods and return to sit against the tree. When dawn came, the guardsman was still watching, hollow-eyed.

  Stormaway rose first, looking very heavy eyed. He glanced belligerently at Danton. “Not much of a sleeper, are you?”

  Danton gave a tired smile. “I’m sorry. Did I keep you awake? I tried to be as quiet as possible.”

  Stormaway bent a frown in him, “What were you up to?”

  “Me?” asked Danton in some surprise. “I was doing what a guardsman does best. I was guarding His Royal Highness.”

  The wizard grunted derisively, “What? Out here, miles from anywhere, in the middle of the forest?”

  Danton shrugged. “Well, after your magic display yesterday, anyone for miles around might know he was here. Besides,” the guardsman frowned, “I keep having the feeling that we’re being watched. I’ve learnt to trust my instincts. So I couldn’t just go to sleep and hope for the best. I thought about putting a shield up over us all. We’re sitting ducks for an ambush in these trees. But I thought it might wake His Highness.”

  Stormaway seemed to find this mildly amusing. “Yes, I think it might have done.”

  Danton threw off his blanket and stood up. He scrubbed his face with his hands, yawned and stretched himself. “Now you’re awake, I might hunt around for some wood and get a fire going.”

  When Danton returned, Tarkyn was awake and talking in low voices with Stormaway. As he approached, the prince shot a hard, calculating look at him. Danton stopped dead, the colour draining from his face. He bowed stiffly and placed the firewood carefully on the ground. Then he bowed again and stepped backwards for several feet before turning on his heel and heading back through the forest on the pretext of finding more wood. The prince did not acknowledge him or call after him.

  The blonde sorcerer wandered around, collecting wood, his mind in a daze. This was not the prince he had last seen in Tormadell. The man back there talking with Stormaway was cold and aloof. All evening, he had not unbent and relaxed. Danton began to comprehend the damage that had been wrought by the King’s betrayal of his youngest brother. Although the prince had said he was glad to see him, nothing in his manner had backed up that statement. In a surge of anger and disappointment, the guardsman threw down the wood he was carrying, sat down against the nearest tree and considered his position. He had given up everything to look for the prince. And now he had found him, instead of being greeted with the welcome he had anticipated, the guardsman was faced with a cool, distant prince who had lost his trust in his fellow man and, in particular, in his best friend. Danton put his face in his hands and sat there, wondering what to do next.

  A slight sound roused him and he whipped his head up to find the prince standing before him. He leapt to his feet and bowed.

  “Your pardon, Your Highness. I did not realise you were there,” blurted out the guardsman. Then he stiffened in anticipation of a rebuke as he realised he had spoken first.

  He was a little surprised when Tarkyn merely said, “You may sit down again, Danton. I will
sit also.”

  Tarkyn sat down with his arms laced loosely over his raised knees. He stared steadily at the guardsman for several seconds without speaking. Danton waited, feeling tense in a way he had never felt before with this prince. Somehow, he felt his future was on the line but he didn’t know why.

  Finally, Tarkyn observed noncommittally, “I see you retrieved your knives.”

  “Yes, my lord. I did not feel sufficiently well armed to defend you without them.”

  “I understand you stayed awake all night keeping watch. Thank you for your efforts on my behalf.” The prince’s voice was still distant. “You may need to sleep sometime today, though.”

  Danton looked down at his hands then looked back up at the prince. “I think I might move on, my lord. If you will permit me.”

  Tarkyn frowned. “What? After searching all these weeks? You stay for only one night and then leave?”

  Danton looked away into the forest. “I know now you are safe.” He brought his eyes resolutely back around to meet the prince’s. “I find you changed, my lord, and despite your courtesy, I can tell that my advent has not been welcome. It grieves me that you no longer trust me or feel the friendship we once had. So I would prefer to move on.”

  “Oh blast you, Danton! You always were overly sensitive.”

  Tarkyn sprang to his feet in some agitation and began to pace. Danton also stood up and waited. After several turns during which the prince seemed rather distracted, he stopped dead and looked at Danton.

  Suddenly, much to his surprise, the prince strode over to him, grabbed him by the shoulders and said in the warmer, friendlier voice Danton was used to, “Enough of this. Come here, my friend,” and pulled him into a bear hug.

  The guardsman took a moment to respond since this was now more effusive than he was used to. After a moment, though, he un-stiffened and returned the prince’s embrace.

  When the prince let him go, Danton’s face was a picture of confusion. “Your Highness, I don’t understand. Why have you been so cold towards me? And now suddenly, you’re not.”

  “Because, Danton, I have been making a decision and I have had to conceal information from you. And you know how edgy it makes me when I can’t be straightforward. And now we have decided that I don’t need to do that anymore.”

  “We? You and Stormaway, you mean?”

  Tarkyn smiled cheerfully. “No. Not just Stormaway and me.”

  Danton’s eyebrows snapped together. “But you told me you had no-one else with you. I have never before known you to lie.”

  The prince raised his eyebrows. “I may have changed but I haven’t changed that much. I didn’t lie, although in my opinion, I came pretty close. I said there were no wizards or sorcerers with me, and there aren’t.”

  When Danton went to speak, the prince held up his hand. “Wait, Danton. Before we go any further, we need to make a couple of things clear. Firstly, if I explain my previous behaviour to you and re-avow my faith in you, will you stay?”

  Tears sprang to the guardsman’s eyes, “My will is yours to command, my liege. I had thought you did not want me with you.”

  “I am sorry, my friend, that my welcome has been so poor. There were complicating factors, as you are about to find out.” Tarkyn took a big breath. “What I am about to tell you now is in itself an avowal of my faith in you. You are about to be honoured with a trust that, until now, has only been given to Stormaway and myself. If you betray this trust, you betray your honour, yourself and me.”

  Danton went down on one knee before his prince. “You have my pledge, my lord. I will not fail you.”

  “Thank you, Danton.” The prince placed his hand lightly under the guardsman’s arm. “You may stand.” When Danton was once more standing at attention before him, he said, “In a moment, I would like you to meet some people. Under no circumstances whatsoever, must you use magic, knives or any kind of violence against them. Is that clear?”

  Danton looked totally confused again but nodded vaguely.

  Tarkyn’s voice became sharper. “Is that clear?

  Danton focused on the prince’s face, with a puzzled frown on his face. “Not really, my lord, if there are no people with you. But I will undertake to do no violence.”

  “Good enough.”

  In the next instant, a ring of woodfolk appeared around them. Danton made a convulsive movement that he quelled at its inception. They were all dressed in the same garb as the prince and were all slightly shorter than himself. A circle of green eyes watched him. They carried no weapons that he could see but since he was wearing concealed knives himself, he didn’t place much weight on appearances. He forced himself not to stare around at them all and maintained what he hoped was a courteous demeanour.

  “Danton, I would like you to meet the woodfolk. I will introduce you to each of them but I’m sure we will all understand if you don’t remember everyone’s names at first.”

  A chorus of forest sounds issued forth and Danton realised that the woodfolk were commenting on what Tarkyn had said.

  Danton bowed. “I am pleased to meet you. I will do my best to remember your names.”

  Tarkyn scanned the ring quickly and realised that there were representatives from every faction there. The prince walked formally around the circle with Danton, introducing each person with the same level of courtesy and distance. When they had finished, he swept his arm around the circle.

  In a commanding voice, the prince proclaimed, “These people have agreed to allow you to abide among them. In return, you must swear a solemn oath never to reveal their presence to anyone else even, in fact especially, to the king. If you foreswear this oath, your life will be forfeit.” The prince brought his eyes back to rest on his liegeman. “Kneel.”

  Danton went down on one knee, hand on heart.

  “Do you so swear, Danton Patronell, Lord of Sachmore?”

  “Yes, my liege. On pain of death, I do.”

  “You may rise.”

  With the formalities over, Tarkyn looked around and realised several of the oathless woodfolk were regarding him very strangely indeed. He left Danton in the care of Stormaway and walked over to speak to them, his eyes shining with mischief.

  “What’s the matter? Never seen a prince at work before, have you?”

  Raging Water stared at him. “No. We have not. It was almost as interesting as your light show yesterday.”

  Tarkyn gave a short laugh. “That wasn’t even a full ceremony just then. That was merely a small aside.” He looked down at himself. “And frankly, the clothes reduced the impact.” He grinned at them. “I’m much more impressive if I’m dressed in full regalia.”

  “Stop bragging. Let’s go and get some breakfast,” said Waterstone, walking up to hear the end of this. “And bring your friend with you. You don’t want Stormaway bending his ear all day.”

  As they walked back towards the large clearing where the rest of the woodfolk awaited them, Waterstone and Danton found themselves side by side while Tarkyn was carried off by an enthusiastic Rainstorm.

  Danton mused, “I was right, wasn’t I? We were being watched.”

  Waterstone smiled grimly. “You certainly were.”

  “And you were making sure I didn’t hurt him or try to carry him off, I presume?”

  “Yes. You came bloody close to being shot a few times last night. When you retrieved your knives and stood over Tarkyn, it was touch and go.”

  Danton’s face tightened. “And did Prince Tarkyn know you were standing by, ready to shoot me?”

  Waterstone heard the tension in the young sorcerer’s voice. “Yes. He knew. You have no idea how often I had to reassure him that we weren’t planning to kill you.” Seeing the confusion still on Danton’s face, he added, “Slingshots, you know. We usually use bows and arrows but not against Tarkyn’s friend.”

  Light dawned. “Oh, so that’s how I was knocked out.” Danton gave a little smile. “It’s funny isn’t it? I was guarding the prince against you be
cause I could feel someone watching me. And you were guarding the prince against me.”

  Waterstone clapped the young sorcerer on the shoulder. “Well that’s a good start. At least we have something in common.”

  Danton became thoughtful, “I didn’t do a very good job of it, did I? You could have killed any of us at any time if you had so chosen. I should have put my shield over us.”

  Waterstone nodded. “Yes. You probably should, in similar circumstances. Last night, however, that may have led to some fairly unpleasant consequences. So it was good that you didn’t.”

  “What could you have done against a shield?”

  “Not much.” The woodman shrugged, “But we had two accomplices who would have been inside the shield. Stormaway was not asleep at any time and we could wake Tarkyn without you being aware of it.”

  Danton thought back. “You woke him when I was standing over him, didn’t you?” The guardsman turned bleak purple eyes towards Waterstone. “It is difficult to come to terms with such a lack of trust from someone I have felt so close to, for so long.”

  Waterstone smiled in sympathy. “It is difficult to come to terms with it in someone you have just recently met. I had to go to extreme lengths to get him to trust me. Tarkyn has been badly hurt. The trust will return over time.” The woodman paused, “And he was not acting purely on his own behalf last night. He was protecting us; not only that, but you have to remember Tarkyn wasn’t a saleable commodity last time you saw him.”

  Danton frowned suddenly and spoke sharply. “That is no way to speak about His Highness. Furthermore, I don’t think you should be referring to him simply as Tarkyn. He should be referred to as Prince Tarkyn at the very least.”

  “Oh ho. Up on your high horse already, your lordship.” Waterstone stopped and put his hands on his hips. “Well, let me tell you something, my young buck. I call him Tarkyn because he gave me his express permission to do so and there is nothing I would ever say about Tarkyn that I wouldn’t say to his face. Not only that, you will have to watch your step in the way you speak to people around here. Not everyone acknowledges the prince as their liege, and even among those who do, there are serious pockets of resentment. Luckily you tried that one on me first or you might have found yourself in the middle of a nasty fight.”