A message.
William turned and found his camel, mounting the animal again.
He stuck the rocks in his pocket, waiting for a time when he’d be able to read the note.
William, Worth, Alexandra, and Eric shared the same room but not the same cell. Riley, of course, was nowhere to be seen.
They had been thrown in almost as soon as they’d arrived. William had caught a glimpse of Rendal, but he’d seen no one else. No Erin, no Lucie, only the two kids.
There were four cells in the room, each in a different corner, with only the three being currently occupied. The door to the room was in between Alexandra’s and Eric’s cells, a massive deadbolt keeping it locked. William never spent much time in the kingdom’s prisons, so this was new to him.
He said nothing when they shoved him in, only waited. The pebbles in his pockets felt like small flames, ready to burn him up if he didn’t pull them out and see what the parchment said. Still, he waited. The guards had thrown them in and then left, but William didn’t fully trust them.
An hour passed.
“Worth thirsty. You think they give wine?” The bald man grinned.
William couldn’t joke back at the moment. He couldn’t pull his mind away from the message.
“You got plan, William? Or you just sleeping over there?” Worth asked after a while.
William raised a finger to his lips. Shhhh.
He slipped his other hand into his pocket, identified the one with the parchment, and pulled it out.
Worth and Alexandra stared at him. Neither had mentioned the scratch on his face, but William took the small rock and drew a line with it down the side of his cheek to show them what happened.
Both nodded, saying nothing.
The parchment was wrapped tight around the rock and held on with a piece of string, and William took it off carefully. He unfolded the paper, glancing at the door first.
Help is ready. When Riley attacks, so will the city.
William didn’t read the message again but folded it back up. He reached into his pocket, pulled the rest of the pebbles out, and laid them on the floor of the cell. He stuck the paper back in alone.
“What’s it say?” Alexandra whispered.
“That at least some of our group is free, and they’ve been working hard.”
“I swear by all that’s holy, Brighten, I can’t trust you to do anything right.” Kris rolled her eyes.
“If it wasn’t for me, you’d be in jail right now!” Brighten shot back. “You ran so fast up on that first guard, he saw you before I could even say anything! You’re lucky I was there!”
Brighten felt himself growing hot, but Kris only grinned back at him. She looked at Lucie and Erin. “You two should have seen it. I mean, here I am running around the walkway, doing my best to get to the drop, and Brighten is lollygagging behind as usual. He tried to use some of that silly magic on one of the guards, but the damned idiot turned around and started walking the same way I was going. So, ya know what I did?”
Lucie and Erin were grinning.
“I clocked him and knocked him out.” Kris glanced at Brighten again. “I don’t even know why you came. I mean, I could have just kicked all their asses and done it by myself.”
Brighten’s face was red. He was really angry.
Erin stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. “You know she’s trying to get you to blow a gasket, right?”
“Damn right I do!” Brighten shouted. “But I did make a difference! That first guard had seen her, and the second one would have too!”
Kris laughed, standing up and crossing the bedroom. She punched him lightly on the shoulder. “I’m kiddin’ with ya, No Nuts. I know I couldn’t have done it without ya.”
Brighten leaned back in his chair, his anger dissipating at her acknowledgment.
Besides, fatigue was taking over.
They’d rushed back to Mac’s Lodge as quickly as they could, Brighten sure the entire time that they’d been spotted and would shortly be killed.
All the running and mental stress had taken a severe toll on him.
“Okay, enough with the bantering,” Lucie chimed in. “What happened?”
“I dropped the rock. It hit him. He looked up, and I think he saw us.”
“Did he get the rock?” Lucie asked.
Kris shook her head. “We don’t know. We hid as soon as he saw us.”
“You don’t know?” Lucie nearly shouted. “It’s kind of important that he got it.”
“He got it,” Erin responded, calming the older lady down. “If it hit him and he saw them, he got it. William’s big, but he ain’t dumb, despite how much you joke with him.”
Lucie nodded, knowing it was true.
“All right,” Erin continued. “So, now they know what we’re up to. It’s our job to be in position at the right time.”
“You know what that means, Brighten? In position?” Kris asked with a devilish grin on her face. “Means to be ready, unlike up there on that walkway.”
Brighten’s eyes were closed, but his eyelids glowed red.
“AHH!” Kris screamed, brushing her shoulder frantically. “GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!”
Brighten opened his eyes as she danced back, still swiping at her shoulder.
His eyes faded to their normal color and a huge grin spread across his face. “You should watch how you talk to me, Kris, unless you want more spiders crawling over you.”
Erin and Lucie burst out laughing, and Brighten kept smiling.
Kris was still staring at her shoulder, understanding dawning on her.
She turned toward Brighten and flipped him off, although she couldn’t keep a small smirk from coming to her face.
“Better be careful with him, Kris. He’s a mage now,” Erin explained. “Come on, though. Let’s get to work.”
Chapter Seventeen
Riley spent long hours alone, although they had housed her in much better quarters than anyone she’d arrived with. She figured William and the rest had been thrown in a prison somewhere, and she wished she was with them.
She was starting to understand, though, that she couldn’t finish this if she was.
Riley was starting to understand a lot of things, the most important being that she had to end this. For her kingdom. For her people.
No matter what.
She’d been placed in one of the castle’s rooms that she hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t as large as Mason’s chambers had been, but it was triple the size of her former quarters. It was much more luxurious than anything she’d ever lived in, and she didn’t like it one bit.
She sat in one of the overstuffed chairs and stared out the massive window that overlooked much of the kingdom. She’d counted the floors as she was escorted to this room, so she knew she was fifteen stories up.
The kingdom looked much the same. There had been no war here. Goland and Mason clearly surrendered without a fight, and Riley had to trust that their decision had been the right one.
Actually, she knew it had been, because she finally understood her role in this.
The door to the room opened. It had been unlocked the entire time, but Riley hadn’t attempted to leave. Rendal came in.
“Hello, Riley,” the dark mage said. “I see you survived the spell I hit you with.”
Riley didn’t look away from the window. “I’ve survived everything you’ve thrown at me, Rendal. I’m beginning to think you’re not all that powerful.”
“Ah, yes. You’ve survived, but you haven’t really thrived, have you? Your kingdom is mine. Your friends are all imprisoned, and tonight you’re going to decide if they die or not.”
“I’d like to see Mason,” Riley said.
“Mason, Mason, Mason,” Rendal mocked. “Do you enjoy being his lapdog?”
Riley ignored him. “If you want anything out of me, you’re going to have to show me that he’s safe.”
“Walk with me for a bit first, then I’ll let you see the man who hold
s your leash.”
Riley stood, although she didn’t turn around. “Where are you staying?”
“Where the Prefect always stays, of course. I’m in my chambers.”
“You mean you’re in Goland Ire’s chambers?”
“Riley...” Rendal sounded as if he was exasperated and talking to a small child. “Many things have changed here, one of them being your old Prefect’s place. He’s now a prisoner, nothing more. He will remain a prisoner until he dies, which might be soon, depending on how you act. Now, come with me, or we can go ahead and finish this. I’m done playing games with you.”
Riley understood the message.
She would either do as he bid or they would fight to the death.
Riley turned, the path becoming clearer as she did. The way to end it all. She went over to Rendal. “Where are we going?”
Rendal smiled. “I want to show you the plans I have for this kingdom.”
He led her out of the room, and the two made their way down the tower to the bottom floor. Neither spoke. Riley walked behind him on the staircase; she could have attacked, but she didn’t. She still wore her necklace, which shut off her magical ability, but it wouldn’t have been hard to launch herself at him.
Yet, she didn’t.
Once outside the castle, Rendal finally spoke.
“Over there, to your left.” He gestured with his hand. “You see the construction?”
A wooded area had been cleared, one Riley had known since she was a child. In its place were cinderblocks and men building walls.
“That’s the basis for what’s going to be our magic school. I’ll need to find a better name, of course, but that’s what’s coming. I put it right next to the castle for a reason. Those who practice magic will be second only to royalty.”
Riley watched in silence for a few minutes.
“I used to play hide and seek there when I was a kid,” she finally whispered.
“I told you that things have changed. It’s only been a short time, but already I’m making the kingdom over in my image. Come, there is more to see.”
The two continued walking and Rendal kept talking as they did, like some kind of twisted tour guide. “You see, not everything is going to change. Much of New Perth will remain the same—physically, at least.”
The two were in one of the business districts. The people on the streets were doing their best not to gawk at the Right Hand striding along next to the mad sorcerer. Most kept their heads down, although they furtively glanced up from time to time.
Riley saw two boys across the street who were simply unable to look away. It wasn’t just shock on their faces, but disappointment. Crushing disappointment, because their savior was now walking shoulder to shoulder with their conqueror.
“Of course, there will be certain physical parameters that I have to change,” Rendal explained. “Yet, it’s the underlying structure that’s most important. The soul of New Perth. That’s what I’m here to make different.”
As they wound their way through the streets, Riley saw that Rendal wasn’t lying. There was no grand construction, and no destruction either. There’d been no war. No fight.
That’s because Goland and Mason were expecting you to return in triumph. Instead, you were brought in like a broken horse.
“Here.” Rendal came to a stop. “Now, this will be different. As you can see, I’m already starting to rearrange certain elements.”
They’d made their way to Kingdom Square. A large area had been roped off in the middle, and more cinder blocks were filling it in, although not to build walls. The platform that was already there was being extended.
“What is it?” she asked.
“From time to time, we’re going to have fights. A long, long time ago—if I understand correctly—humans used to do this. They called the participants ‘gladiators.’ We’re going to do the same, only with magic. On this platform, we’ll have mages fight. Maybe to the death, maybe only to victory, I haven’t decided yet. This is part of changing the soul, though. Little boys and girls will grow up wanting to be great warrior mages. They’ll desire it almost from birth.”
Rendal looked from the square to Riley.
“I’m going to create a kingdom of conquerors. This is only the beginning.”
Riley didn’t look at him as he spoke, just stared at the laborers slowly reconstructing her kingdom.
“I’m ready to see Mason,” she finally said.
“There’s more for us to discuss, but I wanted you to understand that there’s no going back. I’ve already begun recruitment for the first class of mages. They’re eager, Riley. True, many of the citizenry distrust me, but not the young ones. They want to use their magic.”
Rendal’s eyes were alight with desire.
“This kingdom is already changing, and you will either join or die. There will be no more battles. No more chases. No more strategy. Join me, or I will take away everything you love, and then I will take your life.”
Riley looked down at her feet. “I grow tired of your pronouncements, mage. Show me Mason, and then you and I can deal with the rest of this.”
Mason and Goland remained behind bars as they watched Riley walk in.
The first thing Mason recognized was the necklace that hung from her neck. A guard escorted her in but stopped just through the door.
“When you’re done, knock. I’ll come open it.”
Riley didn’t turn around to answer him. Rather, she kept her eyes on Mason.
The guard left, shutting the door behind him.
“Rendal is just leaving you in here alone with us?” Mason asked.
Riley shrugged. “Alone is a strong word.” She looked around the room for a second. “There. One of those exploding devices.”
Mason’s eyes narrowed as he peered into the dark corner of the room and there it was, up at the top. Either he and Goland had missed it the entire time, or Rendal had only recently had it placed in here.
“Basically, if I try anything, he’ll bring down the whole structure on our heads,” Riley said as she turned back around.
Goland stepped up, walking past Mason to the bars. “How’s William? Is he alive?”
Riley knelt. “Your Grace.”
“Oh, stand up. Stand up!” Goland commanded. “I’m an old man behind bars. Does it look like I have any grace? I’ve been pissing in front of my son for the past week, so I think we can do away with the rituals. William, how is he?”
“He’s alive. Beat the hell out of Belarus on the way here. Do you know him?”
Mason groaned. “Unfortunately. Did he kill him? I doubt we’re that lucky.”
“Ha, no, Harold stopped it, but the man won’t be eating solid food for a while. His jaw is broken.”
“William is good for something, then,” Goland quipped. “Just not getting us out of here. Now, tell me, do you like what I’ve done with the place? I’ve added a new dictator, and we’re doing some new construction as well. I’ve also found myself a new home, as you can see. It lacks the…decor we had before, but it does get really cold at night, and the bugs only come when the lights go off—which is mostly never.”
Riley smiled as she stood. “You’ve really done a masterful job, Your Grace. Though I must say, you could have had the walls painted.”
Goland grinned. “Yeah, I keep telling these guards the room needs a bit more flavor, but for some reason, they’re not listening to me anymore.”
Mason watched the two of them going back and forth, loving every moment of it.
Eventually, though, his father’s face grew solemn. “What is your plan, Right Hand? Do you have one?”
“I do,” Riley answered.
“Are we being listened to now?” Mason asked.
“Probably. I imagine anything any of us says is being heard by Rendal or will make its way back to him.” Riley searched Mason’s eyes. “Do you remember my sworn oath?”
“Of course,” Mason answered.
“Will you re
peat it to me please, Assistant Prefect?”
“To protect my father. To protect me. To protect the kingdom. To protect the kingdom’s people.”
“I need you to trust that whatever happens, I haven’t forgotten my oath. I need you to remember that.”
“What are you saying, Riley?” Mason asked. He didn’t like the sound of this at all. He didn’t need to remember anything. He knew Riley like the back of his own hand. He knew both of their sworn oaths.
“I’m saying that I must do what is best to allow me to keep my oath, even if it doesn’t look like it.”
“You’re not…” Goland whispered, but his sentence trailed off.
Mason knew what he was going to say.
“You’re not going to join him. Tell me you’re not.”
“I’m going to keep my oath, Assistant Prefect. I’m going to protect your father, you, the kingdom, and its people.”
“Not if you join him,” Goland snapped. “If you join that monster, then you’re no better than him. You will have forsaken your oath and everything that you hold dear. Do not think otherwise even for a second.”
Riley looked down at her feet, and Mason’s anxiety turned to depression.
“I ask only that you remember my oath, Prefect Ire. I ask that you both remember it in the days to come.”
Chapter Eighteen
Rendal watched as Harold and Riley entered the Court. He was sitting on the throne, trying to decide if he wanted to keep this or get something new. He knew that Goland liked to say some nonsense that a throne should be uncomfortable to remind the Prefect of how hard of a job he had, which was bullshit. The hard part had been getting here. The rest would be smooth sailing.
The tapping of Harold’s and Riley’s heels echoed off the high ceiling as they walked.
“Your Grace,” his second in command said.
He knelt on one knee, while Riley remained standing.
“You’ve seen Mason.” Rendal looked down at her from his throne. “Now I’d like you to see something else.”
Magic Unchained (Hand Of Justice Book 4) Page 13