The Hidden Mask (Wizard's Helper Book 6)

by Guy Antibes

  “A little,” Jack said. He and Penny decided to downplay the insurgency they were working with. “I met some people on my trip, so I’ve been visiting their friends. Everyone keeps saying the mask is in the north.”

  “But where?” Lin asked.

  “On the way to the city Niemeaux, I told you about earlier, but that town is at least a week away, so the mask could be anywhere between here and there. That doesn’t help us a lot. I still think I need to find a way to talk to Archbishop Tolmoux,” Jack said. “I have got some of my new friends identifying who might be lower-level leaders in the factions. They have been using what we gave them and are adding to it.”

  Lin nodded. “Good. That is more of what I’d like to hear.” She said it as if she were the supreme leader in their group. It irritated Jack in his current frame of mind.

  “What have you been doing?”

  “Resting. The drug affected me more than it did Penny.”

  “I’ll let you rest, then.”

  Jack had hoped her overbearing nature would have been caused by the spell and then the drug, but he had to admit, that trait was part of Kanlinn Marker’s nature. It made her what she was, and that surprised Jack. Would Lin be Lin without that characteristic? He labored under no illusions that people were perfect. That fact had been drilled into him all his life. He had once thought he was perfect as an adolescent, but his parents had a different opinion.

  He climbed the stairs and worked out in the ballroom by himself. He didn’t know where Penny had flitted off to, but he needed the exercise to blot out everything but an attempt at introspection. Fasher and Ari saw something in him that Jack had missed seeing in himself. It still bothered him, just as he missed seeing the overbearing aspect of Lin’s personality. He couldn’t see anything in his own self that would merit being able to command an operation as large as the one that had been thrust upon him.

  What were they thinking? Jack shook his head as he touched the void and continued to push himself. He finally stopped, grabbing a towel to wipe the perspiration off his forehead and his hands after he sat down on one of the benches. Accepting the task was second nature, but he should have thought harder.

  “Working out frustrations?” Penny asked as she walked into the room. She picked up Jack’s Masukaian sword and swished it in the air, but Penny hadn’t dressed for sword practice.

  “No,” Jack said. “It isn’t frustration that is the problem. It is wondering why I have been saddled with command. I’m no leader.”

  Penny sat down beside him. “You could have fooled me,” she said. “It seemed that you did a tolerable job in Lajia.”

  “That was easy. We all knew each other. I was the only one who could teleport long distances, so it was reasonable for me to do the directing. Grigar, Tanner, and Helen were caught when I left them to save you.”

  “And you succeeded in saving all of us. You are a hero.”

  “But do all heroes make good leaders?” Jack asked.

  “Probably not,” Penny admitted. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t be a leader. Did you ever think you would be so proficient with a sword?”

  “No.”

  “Did you think you would end up being immune to conversion spells?”

  “I’m not sure I would be immune to whatever Yvessa did to you.” Jack showed her his wrist, decorated with the silver bracelet that Ari had given him. “I’m not going to risk it.”

  “You were successful at everything Uncle Fasher threw at you. He wouldn’t have you do this without having the confidence you would succeed.”

  Jack bit his lip. He didn’t like having this conversation with Penny, but he needed to talk to someone. “I always risked my life, though.”

  “That hasn’t changed, Jack,” Penny said.

  “Maybe I need to talk to Fasher.”

  “I’m not stopping you. Perhaps you need some reassurance from him.”

  Jack frowned. “I have received little enough in the past, but I will. Do you mind if I keep it private?”

  Penny shook her head. “But let me stay so we can talk after.”

  After taking a deep breath, Jack closed his eyes. Fasher?

  Not the most convenient time, but I can communicate. Corina and I are walking to a patient’s house. Your trip to the countryside is over by now? Did something happen? Fasher asked.

  Something is always happening. Jack gave him a quick rundown and ended with his time spent at Lord Delancey’s castle. Ari said that you and he would want me to command the insurgent forces.

  We have discussed the situation since you have returned. I concur. It will be good for you. Realize that you don’t have to do everything yourself, and you will be all right. The situation between Delancey’s forces and the smaller city-bound units is an uneasy one, according to Ari. Having an independent leader helps both sides accept direction. You are the best I have.

  Jack thought for a moment. What about Lorton?

  What about him? If you want his opinion, ask him, but you are in charge. You are the one who has earned their respect from a fighting skills standpoint, not him. Jack, you must stop doubting yourself. Don’t get started now. You have no idea what you will confront in the future. It’s time to discover that you can do more than you ever thought. You aren’t alone. I’m here when you need me, but I’m not going to hold your hand from Raker Falls. Ari has restrictions on what he can do.

  He told me, Jack said.

  Fasher paused for a moment. I know. Don’t let that get in the way of any decision you have to make. Talk to Penny.

  She is sitting beside me. Jack looked at her and took her hand.

  Keep your focus, Jack. I have reached my destination. Keep me informed.

  I will. Jack could feel the connection sever.

  “He thinks I can do it.”

  “That makes three of us: Ari, Fasher, and me,” Penny said, squeezing his hand. “You can talk to Ari too.”

  Jack nodded. He didn’t want to burden Ari with his doubts, but perhaps a short conversation to let him know that he confirmed Fasher’s opinion wouldn’t hurt.

  “I’m going to wash up. Are we all eating in tonight?”

  Penny nodded, looking out the back window. Jack followed her eyes. The sunlight was turning orange, and Jack hoped his doubts would dim as well.

  ~

  Jack felt better than he had since he left Lord Delancey’s castle. He didn’t like feeling inadequate, but he had to conquer that as much as any of his foes. Penny had told him that he would have victories and defeats. Jack had never thought about defeats, but he could ignore thinking about those until the time came. He couldn’t worry about what did or didn’t happen in the future until that happened too. Jack just had to plan contingencies if things went awry, as much as was practical.

  With this on his mind, he sat down for dinner. All six of them were dining, which hadn’t happened for some time. Jack had been gone, and Lin and Penny were recovering when he returned.

  Lin sat at the head of the table. She waved an envelope. “Another ball. Sera is not invited this time.” She looked at Sera with mock-sadness. “You and Oscar can make sure the townhouse is secure while we are gone.”

  “I agree,” Lorton said. “We should have someone in the house supervising the servants at all times, preferably two.”

  “They all have charms,” Jack said. “We won’t have to worry about them being ensorcelled to betray us.”

  “We still need to be vigilant,” Lorton said. “They can still be bribed. We know that.”

  “What is our goal for this ball?” Penny asked.

  “The same,” Lin said breezily. “Don’t be too overt. I will definitely be circulating more this time.” She looked at Jack. “Thanks to you, I can do that. We are going to the Floury’s. Annette is to be feted.” Lin held up the invitation again. “Hopefully there won’t be so many exalted people, and I seriously doubt if the queen and her consort or the prime minister will be in attendance.”

  “The Ambas
sador and his wife?” Jack asked. “Can you face Enara Crabson when she was likely the one who tried to convert you.”

  Lin shrugged. “I hope she doesn’t attend as much as anyone does. You two will be armed for this one. You have a reputation to maintain.”

  “Does everyone know about the attack on the night of the royal ball?” Jack asked.

  Lin nodded. “Of course. I didn’t want it kept secret for too long. People think we were discreet. The time for that kind of discretion has passed, especially after Enara Crabson’s luncheon. I haven’t spread that story around.”

  Jack looked at Lorton, who held his breath for a second. He wondered what that meant. “When is the ball?”

  “In the middle of next week. I will have Oscar bring in a dance instructor for all of us, including Oscar and Sera. I don’t expect them to be excluded every time.”

  Chapter Thirty

  ~

  J ack wasn’t excited about taking time from his outside activities to go to a ball, but he didn’t see a way around it. He and Penny rode out to the Delancey farm. Ari had something else to do, and that made Jack a little anxious. He remembered what Fasher had said, and he intended to keep as calm as he could, bearing in mind that he would be the bridge between the city group and the Delancey force.

  They were stopped once in the woods leading to the farmhouse, but that was only to give Jamie a little warning. The big man and his mother stood on the porch as they rode up.

  “Are we going to train more?” Jamie asked.

  “We can, but I’d like to know what you’ve come up with so far,” Jack said.

  “Strategy first,” Jamie said. “I get it. Come with us.”

  They returned to the conference room on the second floor. A more detailed map of Bristone was spread before him with the thin paper outlining the lower level.

  “This came from Bristone?” Jack asked.

  “It did, compliments of Ari Gasheaux,” Manon said. “This is much better than anything we had.”

  “You’ve made copies?” Jack asked.

  “We will,” she said.

  “Good. Have you come up with any ideas?” Jack asked.

  “We will. The officers haven’t seen this. I thought we could show it to them together,” Manon said.

  Jack nodded. “That way, we will get first impressions.”

  “Exactly,” Jamie’s mother said.

  Jack looked at Penny. “Can you memorize this?”

  “Most of it. I’d like to learn the lower level first, maybe make a tracing.”

  Jack nodded. “We are attending a ball next week.”

  “What faction?” Jamie asked.

  “Lord Floury, Royalist. We traveled together, coming from Boxwood.”

  “You trust him?”

  Jack nodded. “I trust him, but we have to travel from our townhouse to Lord Floury’s house and back. That is our weakest point.”

  “Do you need an escort?” Manon asked.

  Jack shook his head. “If I need an escort, I’ll get city men. I don’t want to publicize your presence.”

  Manon nodded.

  A knock on the door interrupted them. Ten men and two women walked in. Manon made the introductions.

  “This map came from your counterparts inside the city,” Jack said.

  “Can we trust it?” one of the women asked.

  “If you have problems with that, why don’t you have a few of your people verify parts of it,” Penny said. “If you arrive at a specific strategy, you won’t have to worry about most of the streets.”

  Jamie nodded. “That is a good point.”

  Jack looked down at the map. He never considered himself a strategist, but it wasn’t as if he’d never read about battles. That was part of his extended school experience back in Raker Falls. “Let’s run through a few possible objectives,” Jack said. “What would we do to neutralize the city guard?”

  The conversation took on a life of its own as the officers were eager to contribute what they would do. Most of them had been to Bristone before, but they weren’t intimately familiar with the streets.

  Penny took notes, and they finished by discussing what it would take to take over the castle. Everyone thought it was impregnable. No one could get through the lower level entrance unless they took the guards completely by surprise, and even then, no one knew what they faced if they stepped into the killing corridor.

  “So, we would take it from the upper level. Any ideas on how that could be accomplished?”

  “No siege?” one of the officers asked.

  “No time for a siege,” Jack said. “We have to get in as quickly as possible and defend against a counterattack. Right?”

  “Or take it and use the castle as a lure for the other factions,” Jamie said.

  Jack nodded. “I’ll leave Penny’s notes behind. Think about it. Without the castle, you might as well be back in Mont Alyse, but figure out what of the other operations we discussed can be done by you, and what can be done by your allies in the city. It’s time for some training.”

  “I don’t think so,” Jamie said. “You’d better be on your way if you are to make it back to Bristone before you get stranded in the approaching snowstorm.”

  Jack looked at the clock on the wall. He had lost all track of time. “We’d best be off then. We can train another day, especially when we have a better idea of what we will be training.”

  They moved a bit more quickly through the woods and back onto the main road some distance away from the farm. Jack looked up at the sky. The sun was covered by low clouds. The temperature dropped, and the first few flakes hit Jack’s face.

  “Are you going to be able to make it?” Jack asked Penny. “It will be a frigid slog being caught in this.”

  “I dressed for warmth.”

  Jack had a cloak in his saddlebag, but even if it wasn’t the warmest garment, it would keep him alive on their journey back to Bristone.

  The light flakes turned into moderate snow. The day became dark, and the wind began to blow, turning snowflakes into tiny biting stings when they hit Jack’s face. The snow became a blizzard, and Jack could hardly make out the sides of the road. The horses balked and barely put one hoof in front of the other.

  “There is a building ahead,” Penny said.

  Jack could make out light to their left. “That must be the church,” Jack said. “I suppose we can take shelter there. Do you have your bracelet on?”

  “As if I didn’t learn a lesson. Of course I do,” Penny said. “I don’t want Yvessa seeing us in her domain.”

  “Then let’s see if they will take us in. We might have to spend the night,” Jack said.

  Penny looked grim and nodded, shivering.

  They entered the courtyard to the church. They could barely see the church across from them. Three carriages were in the courtyard. Horses were still hitched to one of them. White-clad boys came from the stable.

  “We can take care of your horses first. No one will be traveling in this,” one of the boys said, shivering in the snow. “Except for you two. The church will be full tonight, but the food will be hot. Go on inside so we don’t have to stand around in this!”

  Jack took their saddlebags and gave the stableboy a few coins as a tip, but the boy gave the money back. “Ours is a free service,” the boy said.

  “Then a thank you will do? Thanks,” Jack said as he took Penny’s hand and walked to a side door leading inside.

  He opened the door and let a flood of warmth envelope them. He half expected the ice goddess’s church to be as cold inside as it was outside. A woman in white greeted them. She looked to be in her sixties with long, scraggly white hair.

  “Yvessa has blessed us this afternoon,” the woman said. “It will snow until morning. You two are also blessed since you may sleep in her loving arms tonight.” She frowned and looked at them. “Are you married?”

  “No, we are friends,” Jack said.

  “There is only one room left, I’m afrai
d all others are taken by esteemed guests.” The woman looked worriedly from Jack to Penny.

  Penny smiled. “We know each other well enough to share a room.”

  The woman sighed with relief. “I wouldn’t tell the others you aren’t married, then,” she whispered. “We aren’t as rigid in the countryside, but we have esteemed guests tonight that may feel differently.”

  Jack shrugged. “It’s okay with me if it is okay with Penny.”

  “I’m fine. I know where to hurt him if he becomes too forward,” she said.

  The woman chuckled. “That is settled, then. Follow me.”

  They walked across the floor. Yvessa didn’t require her worshippers to stand, so they threaded their way through rows of pews. Jack looked at the goddess, carved all in angles out of wood. Jack wondered if the style was common to show Yvessa more like a block of ice. Her hair was painted white, but Jack wouldn’t be the one to correct them.

  They were shown to the end room that had missed out on the warmth of the rest of the church, but inside was a column of white tile that ran halfway up the wall. The woman turned a valve.

  “Is that for the heat?” Penny asked.

  “It is. If it gets too warm, close the valve halfway.”

  “We will,” Penny said.

  Jack wasn’t too sure, looking at a bed barely wide enough for two in the room. The floor looked hard to him, but he guessed it would be better sleeping there than on frozen ground outside.

  “Our evening meal will begin when you hear the bells chiming. See you then.” Their hostess closed the door behind them, leaving them standing in the room.

  Penny broke out in laughter. “What now?”

  “We can’t sleep together,” Jack said.

  “But we are married,” Penny said, laughing behind the hand she brought up to her mouth.

  Jack scratched his head. “I suppose we won’t have to make a decision until after dinner.”

  There was a knock on the door. The woman carried extra bedding in her arms. “In case you get cold,” she said with a knowing smile.

  “Thank you,” Jack said as he accepted the offering and spread the blankets on the floor. “I’ve slept on worse.” He kicked them aside into a pile.