The Hidden Mask (Wizard's Helper Book 6)

by Guy Antibes

  ~

  P enny nudged Jack with her toe.

  “Rise and shine husband,” she said.

  Jack looked up at her from his makeshift bed on the floor.

  “Bells are ringing, and its time we had some breakfast.”

  Jack nodded and sat up, scratching his head. He yawned. “How was our first night?” he asked.

  Penny smiled as she leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Chaste.”

  “It was indeed,” Jack said, getting up and folding the blankets and laying them on the bed Penny had made. Since the floor was cold and uncomfortable, he almost asked to sleep with her in the middle of the night but didn’t. He didn’t feel married, but he conceded he felt closer to Penny as a result of the ceremony.

  “Is that sunlight on our window?”

  Penny nodded. “It is, and I want a full tummy when we ride to Bristone. Make yourself presentable.”

  Jack noticed the bells again.

  When they walked into the refectory, the clerics applauded, including Archbishop Tolmoux. He looked more like a child who had successfully caught and de-winged a fly, however. Jack, of course, was the fly.

  He shook his head. They were ushered closer to the head of the table.

  “A wedding breakfast,” the deacon said.

  “We were married before,” Penny said.

  “Not under Yvessa,” the man declared. “It is always a wonderful thing.”

  “An experience I never expected,” Jack said.

  The archbishop chuckled to a few surprised stares.

  “I have drafted a marriage certificate,” Tolmoux said. He handed an envelope to an aide who brought it to Jack.

  Jack handed it to Penny, who extracted the document. She showed it to Jack. There were their names, Jack Winder and Penneta Ephram of Raker Falls, on the certificate. Jack was sure it would be legally valid wherever they went.

  Breakfast was filled with congratulations. Jack put up a grand front, and Penny seemed to positively glow from all the accolades. When it was over, they rushed to the stables to leave. The roads were covered, but with all the blowing, their way to Bristone was passable.

  “We are heading in the opposite direction,” one of the archbishop’s aides said, walking up as Jack faced toward Bristone. “I suppose you really weren’t following us.”

  Jack shook his head. “A coincidence.”

  “A happy one,” the aide said. “The archbishop was happier than usual this morning, and he told us you two were the reason.”

  “He certainly made last night an evening to remember,” Penny said.

  The stable boys retrieved Jack and Penny’s horses, and the newlyweds were happy to leave the church behind them.

  “I can’t begin to guess what you are going to do once we reach Bristone?” Penny asked.

  “I can’t wait,” Jack said. “I’m going to talk to Ari now.”

  Penny made a pouty face and reached over to touch Jack’s shoulder. “Are you going to divorce me?”

  “Do we have a reason for staying married?” Jack asked.

  Penny raised her eyebrows and gave Jack an enigmatic smile as a reply.

  Ari? Jack called out to the wizard through telepathy.

  I am enjoying my breakfast, but I can interrupt my morning feast for a chat.

  Jack sighed and then launched into his tale of woe about the night before. He had to wait until Ari stopped laughing.

  Why didn’t you just tell the truth? Ari said.

  They could have thrown us out of the church, and we’d die for certain outside.

  But you could teleport to Bristone. Ari laughed in his mind. You didn’t think of that, did you?

  It is too far without Eldora’s box providing more power, Jack finally said. It took him a moment to find an answer.

  That is an almost believable excuse. Ah, youth. How did Penny take it?

  I’m not sure, Jack said. If the archbishop acts for all gods and goddesses, what does that mean?

  Nothing. Ari said. You are legally married while you are in Antibeaux.

  What about a divorce?

  On what grounds? Changing your mind isn’t grounds for marriage separation in Antibeaux. There were plenty of witnesses, plus no one would believe you over the archbishop. You are, in one word, married. That doesn’t mean you can’t get it reversed in Corand. I’m not familiar with Corandian laws.

  Fasher will know, Jack said.

  Do you want me to ask him?

  Jack couldn’t let Ari talk on his behalf. I’ll talk to him next.

  “No luck with Ari,” Jack said. “I’ll have to talk to Fasher.”

  Penny gasped and put her hand to her mouth. “He would tell Mother and Father—”

  “And my parents, although they wouldn’t object as much as yours,” Jack said. “We don’t have a choice, and perhaps Fasher will be discreet.”

  “Not much chance of that,” Penny said, “but you should let him know. Let me join in.”

  Fasher?

  What has happened? Fasher said.

  Penny and I had an odd circumstance... Once Jack had told his tale, Fasher laughed even harder than Ari, especially when he heard Penny’s comments.

  What is Corandian law about divorce? Penny asked

  If you can restrain yourselves, an annulment. Is that what you want? I had the distinct impression you two were heading in the same direction.

  In time, Jack said.

  Oh, Jack, Penny said. Really?

  Jack didn’t know if she was pranking him or not.

  We might be able to do something about the situation when you return to Raker Falls if you haven’t changed your minds, Fasher said. Until you return, enjoy your time together.

  Jack could feel the connection cease.

  “I guess calling you husband isn’t a joke,” Penny said.

  “Do you feel like my wife?” Jack said. The words even scared him. He wasn’t ready for marriage, even a pretend one. Even to Penny.

  “No, but I am. You were serious about marrying me in time?”

  Jack felt his face turn so hot he thought the snow might melt around them. “It just sort of came out,” Jack said. “We like each other. There is no secret about that.”

  “And no reason to keep our marriage a secret. It will only infuriate the archbishop if we act like newlyweds,” Penny gave Jack a smile and reached out with her hand.

  Jack took it, although holding hands on horseback wasn’t very practical, especially with the horses plowing their way through the snow. “There is still a lot of danger ahead,” Jack said. “Maybe one of us won’t last through the errand.”

  Penny withdrew her hand and shivered. “Don’t say such things, even in jest.”

  “I won’t anymore,” Jack said, but the thought was always on his mind and had been since they started their journey from Dorkansee.

  ~

  Much to Jack’s dismay, everyone had a good laugh at the marriage story.

  “We know the location of the mask,” Jack said to settle everyone down. It worked. “It is where everyone told us it would be!”

  “Do we wait until spring?” Oscar asked.

  “No. The ice might be more treacherous when it warms up,” Lorton said. “It might take a week or two to prepare for the trip.”

  “We don’t all have to go,” Lin said.

  Somehow, Jack expected Lin’s statement. “Lorton and I can go. Oscar can stay with the women,” Jack said. “Penny needs to stay to add some protection.”

  “But a husband and wife should stay together,” Penny said.

  Lorton laughed. “Then, I will stay behind. Of the three of us, Jack is the only one who is required.”

  “What about Ari?” Oscar said.

  Jack was about to volunteer to go alone, but he held his tongue. “I’ll ask Ari. I can’t make him go.”

  “You can’t make me not go,” Penny said. “Lorton can protect Lin and Sera. Who knows what Yvessa will do if you retrieve the mask. We might have to mak
e our way to Corand separately. If Yvessa finds out, you will need me more than you will any other. Our mission is to retrieve the mask, not protect those staying behind in Bristone.”

  Lin narrowed her eyes at Penny. “Well, I can’t see how I can help on a glacier.”

  “I can’t either,” Jack said, trying to defuse the situation. “I’ll find Ari. There are advantages to keeping the retrieval group small.”

  One of which was there would be fewer people to save, Jack thought, but he didn’t express that sentiment.

  “I’ll talk to Ari,” Jack said. He trudged upstairs to his room.

  Penny followed him.

  “What are you doing here?” Jack asked.

  “A husband and wife need to stick together.”

  Jack sighed. “When soldiers go to war, how many of them take their wives?”

  “I have no home to protect or children to rear. I have no reason not to go since I can do more than anyone else to protect my husband.”

  Penny’s words made Jack laugh. “Aren’t you taking our big mistake a little too seriously?”

  Her eyes welled up. “Am I a mistake?” she asked.

  Jack couldn’t help roll his own eyes. “When did I say that? We should have left the church and teleported to Bristone, just like Ari said. I was too stupid not to think of it.”

  “You regret marrying me?” Penny asked.

  “I regret marrying you yesterday,” Jack said. “It is a matter of timing.”

  Penny grinned and wiped her eyes. “I had to practice hours to do that,” she said. “Lin was a harsh taskmistress.”

  Despite what she said, she put her arms around Jack’s waist and looked up at him. “I agree. It is a matter of timing. I disagree if you insist on leaving me behind.”

  Jack sighed. “Then stay here while I contact Ari.”

  I need to talk to you, Jack said once he felt the connection.

  You already told me about your marriage. Congratulations, again.

  Jack took a deep breath. Would he ever live down the marriage thing?

  I’m going after the mask. Do you want to come along?

  I thought you’d never ask. We need to prepare Delancey’s soldiers and the local boys and girls before we leave.

  What do we need to do? Jack asked.

  Tell them we might not return, for one thing. You can let Jamie know, and I will let our friends know. You will have to do a little more training before you go.

  I’ll head out to Jamie tomorrow. Penny has some documentation to complete, and I think I’ll get Lorton in the loop, so if something happens to me, the insurgents aren’t left without any help.

  Good idea. I will be by tomorrow night, Ari said.

  “He will come with us,” Jack said. “We can talk about it more tomorrow night. Are you up for another ride out to Delancey’s farm?”

  “It will be romantic, passing the site of where we took our marriage vows,” Penny said.

  Jack shook his head. “No vows. I think we need to practice in the ballroom,” Jack said. “Have you ever spent any time in the snow?”

  “Are you asking me out to play?” Penny asked.

  “A little seriousness this time,” Jack said. He didn’t know where this woman had come from. Penny had never been so jovial before. Could it be she liked being married? Well, the thought of being married, since their lives hadn’t changed one bit.

  “Do you know what we will be facing? It will be very cold, and on a glacier, the footing is treacherous,” Jack said.

  “And the Battlebone and my bone seer will help us navigate through all that.”

  Jack grinned. “So, you figured out how we will find the mask? Since we can’t see it from here, we should once we get closer.”

  “But we have to survive,” Penny said.

  “All of us. I’m doubtful Yvessa will allow us free access to the mask,” Jack said. “There may be traps or squads of WWS soldiers waiting nearby, now that Archbishop Tolmoux has told us where it is.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  ~

  A ri came for dinner. Lin wasn’t particularly warm to the wizard, and that meant that Oscar was a bit offish, too, but that didn’t seem to bother Ari Gasheaux. Jack didn’t think it would.

  “When will you be leaving for the north?” Sera asked.

  “After Lord Floury’s ball,” Jack said. “I promised our friends on the outside that we would conduct a final bit of intelligence before Penny and I went on our honeymoon.”

  Penny smiled. “Some honeymoon. I’m not sure a tour of northern Antibeaux is a girl’s first choice.”

  “I will be pleased to act as your guide,” Ari said.

  After dinner, Jack, Penny, and Ari assembled in the third-floor sitting room. Ari unrolled the large map of Antibeaux that he had brought with him.

  “This is what I think,” the wizard said. “We leave on the east side of Bristone and take this road northeast before turning on this track that will lead us to the Great Blue Glacier.”

  “It is big,” Penny said. “Is it so big our bone seers won’t work?”

  “The edges aren’t the treacherous parts,” Ari said. “It is the center where the natural forces twist the ice creating all kinds of fissures and fields of marbled ice. We will have to be careful with our horses out there.”

  “Teleportation,” Jack said.

  Ari nodded. “At some point. Perhaps teleportation and the bone seers are the two reasons we can succeed where so many others have failed before. All you have to do is bring plenty of warm clothes. Using any magical heat source will only melt the ice.” He turned to Penny. “Get that map memorized.”

  “What happens once we retrieve the mask?” Jack asked.

  “Even I don’t know. I have prepared a cover to shield the mask from Yvessa, but I’m not sure what else to do.”

  “Does anyone know what it looks like?” Jack asked.

  Ari shook his head. “I have no memory of ever having seen it.”

  “Then let’s bring a few different masks in the sack. We will leave the one that looks the most like the mask behind. Unless Yvessa is actually there, she won’t know the difference.”

  Ari grinned. “That is a good idea. If it emanated a lot of magical force, I would sense it, out in the open.”

  “You can get one of the metal craftsmen to make it?”

  “I don’t even know if it is made out of metal.”

  “Then a metal, a wooden, and a plaster version,” Jack said. He didn’t know if the ruse would work, but any delay in pursuit would enable them to get closer to Corand. If there was a pursuit.

  “And if no one knows we have secured the mask, I suppose we come back here and continue to spend the winter,” Jack said.

  “Until the inevitable collapse in order,” Ari said. “That would be the most likely scenario if we survive, Jack.”

  “And we remained married until then,” Penny said.

  Jack smirked. “You and our marriage. It pales in comparison with retrieving the mask and then helping the insurgency if everyone can agree on the outcome.” Jack turned to Ari. “Any good ideas from the common men of Bristone?”

  “One of the keys may be Princess Glorie. If she is truly a neutral party, perhaps we can ask her to join us.”

  “A task for Lorton,” Penny said. “The two of them have some kind of relationship, although I don’t know what it is, and I think neither of them does either.”

  “Lin can work on that angle. We can deal with that when we get back,” Jack said.

  “You have confidence, young Jack,” Ari said.

  “I’m not afraid to retrieve the mask. It is running an army that gives me pause.”

  “I hope less pause.”

  “A bit,” Jack said. “We should meet every two or three days.”

  “I’ll worry about the meetings, while you get Jamie prepared for your absence.”

  ~

  “You will be gone for a week or two?” Manon asked.

  “We
will. I came to Antibeaux for a reason and fighting the factions, wasn’t it.”

  “You really are going for Adoree’s Mask? That would be the only thing I can think of, since you asked about it,” Jamie said.

  “I recently learned it is embedded in the Great Blue Glacier,” Jack said.

  “How are you going to find it? They don’t call it great for nothing.”

  Jack nodded. “I can only try. If I fail, I will return—”

  “If you don’t die trying,” Manon said.

  “If we don’t die trying,” Penny said.

  “You are going too?” Manon asked.

  Penny nodded. “I will follow my new husband very closely to make sure we both make it back.”

  Jack grimaced. He hadn’t told them about their adventure and had to tell them.

  “So, that is why you are going to the glacier?”

  Manon frowned. “How can you trust the archbishop?”

  “He doesn’t think we can find it.”

  “Neither do I,” Jamie’s mother said.

  “Then we will return, hopefully without frostbite,” Jack said. “Let’s go over what you should accomplish while I’m gone.”

  “And any wisdom you can leave if you don’t return,” Manon said.

  Penny and Jack trained the trainers. Jack was successful in finding a better trigger word for Jamie. The man couldn’t get images to work at all.

  They left the farm even earlier than they had when they were stuck. When they passed the church, both of them looked at the edifice on the side of the road, but neither of them said anything until the church was lost to sight.

  “We were only an hour and a quarter from Bristone,” Penny said when the skyline of the capital appeared on the horizon.

  “No, we weren’t. In that snow, we wouldn’t have made it. We would have gotten lost. I didn’t bring the Battlebone with me. Did you hide the bone seer that night?”

  “I left it in my room,” Penny said. “I didn’t think we would be using it.”

  “We didn’t,” Jack said, sighing.

  ~

  Annette Floury’s ball finally arrived. Jack and Penny had done all they could to prepare. They would leave at dawn, before the rest of the house was up, meeting Ari at the stable.

  Penny looked very nice in her white gown. Jack wore his black Masukai-style uniform with his new black belt. Oscar wore a uniform, and Sera wore a look of disappointment.