Advent (Advent Mage Cycle)

by Honor Raconteur

  I frowned, having not considered that aspect before. “…That’s true.”

  “We would still have been injured,” Shad pointed out ruthlessly. “Although granted, maybe not as badly.”

  “But Xiaolang…” I whispered.

  “Ah, that’s what this is really about, isn’t it? Xiaolang is not Elis, Garth.” Shad gave another shake, eyes and voice intense. He can be a scary individual when he’s not playing the jokester. “I know you love him like a brother, and it’s killing you that you weren’t there to protect him, protect all of us, but you can’t blame yourself for this. None of us knew that something like that Priest was even possible! Stop focusing on past events. Focus on what you can do to prevent this from happening again.”

  I latched onto this advice like a man clinging to a lifeline in a storm-tossed sea.

  “You’re right. Sorry, you’re right.” I drew in a deep, cleansing breath, and lowered my hand.

  “Garth?” Da stood up from the table to walk toward me. “Son, just what happened?”

  I couldn’t tell all of it, of course, but between Shad and I we managed to get the full tale out. My family listened patiently until the very end. I was relieved that by the end of it, no one was hurling accusations at my head.

  Hayden was the one that asked the question everyone was thinking. “But how is that possible? Garth, you said that Mages had to be born.”

  “That was no Mage,” I assured him grimly. “I don’t know how he did what he did, but that wasn’t a true Mage. He wouldn’t have burned himself using that much power if he was. I need to go back to where that fight was and take a good look around, see if I can’t figure out what he did.”

  “I’m going with you,” Shad insisted firmly. “For one thing, you don’t know exactly where we were.”

  I could probably figure that out, but I wasn’t turning down the company right now. I didn’t want to be alone where my doubts and worries could prey on me. “Fine. Let me take Chatta home first.”

  Shad nodded. “I’ll tell Guin what we’re planning to do while you’re gone. How long do you think that will take?”

  “That depends,” I responded with a wince.

  “On what?” he asked in confusion.

  “On whether her father is home or not.”

  Chapter Twelve: Dangerous Magic

  Chatta was more than ready to leave by this point. She had taken the time to clean up a little while she waited on me, and now looked less ragged and more presentable. Night was still not back yet from talking to Guin—I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.

  “Ready to go?” I asked her, holding out both arms.

  “Ready,” she responded with a smile. “You don’t need to carry me there, though.”

  “It’s not a problem,” I assured her as I lifted her into my arms. “After all, you’re not heavy.”

  She arched a sardonic eyebrow at this. “Garth, I’m only about two inches shorter than you. And we’re about the same size. What do you mean, I’m not heavy? Are you used to lugging your own body weight around?”

  “And more.” I shook my head in exasperation. That look on her face clearly said she wasn’t sure if I was bragging or speaking honest truth. “Chatta, think about this. I was a blacksmith’s assistant most of my childhood.”

  She frowned slightly, considering this. “That would develop muscle, wouldn’t it?”

  “Oh yes.” I was grateful for that muscle, too. Sparring with Shad or Xiaolang required all of the strength I could muster. Not to mention that physical strength often helped when I was doing huge magical projects—in regards to stamina, if nothing else.

  She put her arms comfortably around my neck as I walked out into the backyard before dropping down to the earth path. “Is it safe to talk to you?”

  “This trip it is,” I assured her. “I’m not going very fast and I’m pretty familiar with northern Hain.”

  “Oh, good.” She then proceeded to pepper me with a ton of questions about how the Priests could possibly tap into the earth’s power as they did. We discussed the fine points of magical theory and possibilities back and forth, but I’m not sure how accurate some of our assumptions were. Neither of us knew that much of how blood magic worked.

  I was so caught up with our conversation that I nearly missed her house completely. I had to backtrack a little. Fortunately, Chatta couldn’t tell one part of the earth from another…I wasn’t going to mention taking the wrong turn to her, either.

  We came up in front of a house…no, scratch that. It was definitely a mansion. I’ve always known that Chatta was a wealthy aristocrat, but it was only moments like these that really hammered that point in. I had surfaced in a manicured courtyard, complete with a water fountain with a decorative statue in it. The house seemed to loom in front of me, although if the setting sun hadn’t cast most of it in shadow, it no doubt wouldn’t have made that initial impression. The few edges that still caught sunlight were set to sparkling, highlighting the light grey granite stone. All around were the meticulously kept shrubberies, small trees and intricate flower beds that only the truly wealthy could afford to upkeep. The whole place spoke of wealth and power.

  I didn’t have time to gawk at the house, as we were barely standing there for more than a moment when the front door opened and a petite woman with dark hair rushed out. I didn’t need the expensive blue dress made of rich velvet or the obvious family resemblance to know that this was Chatta’s mother. The first words out of her mouth were, “Chatta, I didn’t expect you this soon!”

  Chatta just grinned. “I told you he’s quick, Mom. Garth, this is my mother, L-Noilita Delheart. Mom, this is Magus Rhebengarthen.”

  As I had my arms full—literally—I couldn’t bow. I settled for inclining my head instead. “Lady Delheart, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Ha! Finally the Hainian greeting felt natural on my tongue.

  She blinked, coming to a halt and giving me an intrigued study from head to toe. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Magus. Forgive me, but you’re not…quite what I was expecting…”

  I gave Chatta an accusing look. “Just what did you tell her?”

  “It wasn’t me!” she protested. “It’s Da’s fault.”

  “Both of you are at fault,” L-Noilita corrected in amusement. “Forgive my manners, Magus, you’ve quite startled me. Come inside, I’m sure your arms are tired.”

  Chatta arched a challenging eyebrow at me. “Are they tired?”

  I met her look for look. “Not yet.”

  “Show-off.” Her lips twitched with a suppressed smile.

  L-Noilita watched this exchange with growing curiosity. “Why do I feel like this has already been discussed?”

  “It has been,” her daughter confided with a wink at me. “He claims I’m not heavy.”

  “You’re not,” I assured her. “Blacksmith’s anvils, work tables, raw iron—now those are heavy.”

  “Ah, that’s right!” L-Noilita nodded in understanding. “Chatta mentioned you are a blacksmith’s son. Yes, I suppose you are accustomed to heavy lifting. Well, regardless, please enter.” Her hand beckoned me toward the house.

  I followed silently through a grand foyer of smooth marble floors and expensive paintings into an even grander parlor that seemed to be filled with delicate furniture and priceless knickknacks. The ceiling soared a good twenty feet above my head, with an elaborate mosaic of musicians painted on the ceiling. Two very large chandeliers threw out so much light that most of the room had a sharp, brilliant glow to it. Even the smell of the room didn’t sit right with me—homes always carried a certain scent with it, usually of food cooking or traces of hobbies that people were working on. This place had the same flat smell as a museum. The whole place made me a little nervous. How did people relax in such an environment like this?

  It was with extreme care that I set Chatta down in one of the brocade chairs. With the spindly wood frame, the furniture did not look sturdy enough to actually support a person’s wei
ght.

  “Chatta told me of what happened,” L-Noilita said as she waved me into a chair. “The whole thing is simply incomprehensible. How did anyone borrow such power?” Since this woman was most definitely a Witch, she would understand the technicalities involved.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted as I sat next to Chatta. I cocked an ear for the groan of wood, but the chair remained sturdy under my weight. Maybe it was tougher than it looked. “Shad and I—forgive me, do you know of Captain Riicshaden?”

  “I do,” she responded comfortably. “Chatta has told me stories on all of you. Do go on.”

  What stories? No, wait; I don’t want the answer to that. “Shad and I are planning to go to Chahir immediately. I want to look at that area and see what I can discover. If that Priest really was borrowing the earth’s power—and he had to be to manipulate stone and earth to the extent he did—then the earth should bear some record of that.”

  “A sound approach, I think.” She nodded in satisfaction. “My husband is out of the house at the moment, Magus. I had hoped you would arrive this evening, when he was home.”

  I was both grateful I’d missed him and sorry I had. It just meant I would have to talk to him later, which wasn’t something any sane man would look forward to.

  Chatta patted my hand consolingly. “Garth, you have nothing to worry about. I mean, you weren’t even there when it all happened. The oath you gave doesn’t apply in this case.”

  My temples were beginning to throb. I rubbed at one, futilely, as it did nothing to ease the headache. “I hope he sees it that way. Regardless, I’ll talk to him when I come again. Chatta, it’s up to you—do you want me to come back up after Shad and I are through in Chahir?”

  “It’d be nice for you to visit, certainly,” she encouraged. “And I want to know what you discover. But don’t exhaust yourself running about like this.”

  “I won’t,” I promised. Or at least, I’d try not to. Life had a habit of throwing the unexpected at my head. “I should leave now. I promised Shad it would be a quick trip.”

  “But I wanted to have a proper visit with you!” L-Noilita protested, pleading look cast in my direction. “Can’t you stay a few minutes longer, at least?”

  “I’m afraid that I can’t,” I answered with a smile to soften the refusal. “But when I come again, which should be tomorrow at some point, I’ll stay longer.”

  “I shall be content with that, then. Safe journey, Magus, and I do hope you find the answers you’re looking for.”

  “Thank you.” I stood and gave her a proper bow. Then I turned to Chatta and ducked down to exchange a hug with her. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

  “All right. And you and Shad look out for yourselves.” She held me in place a moment longer, whispering into my shoulder, “Don’t get hurt too.”

  I pulled back enough to give her a feral smile. “If they’re idiots enough to pull that trick when I’m there, I’ll take great pleasure in destroying them utterly. History won’t repeat itself.”

  Her smile was nearly as predatory as mine. “Good.”

  Giving one last bow to L-Noilita, I strode out of the house, making a list in my head as I went. I had to pick up Shad, Night, and then tell Guin my intentions. At that point, I should be able to go back to Chahir.

  Whether this would be a quick trip or not depended entirely on what I found there.

  ~*~

  As it turns out, I didn’t need Shad’s help at all to find the place. I didn’t even need to be a magician; normal eyesight would have been enough.

  I turned in a slow circle, taking in everything around me, feeling sick to my stomach. The light had faded to the point that only a twinge of gold illuminated the clearing. The guardians showed mercy with my timing—I’m not sure if I could handle having a very clear view right now.

  Even as I stood there watching, more and more of the land died. The plants were shriveling up into this sort of sick, grey dust, as if the life had been sucked out of them; which, actually, described it accurately. Even the dirt seemed leached of life, turning a sickly grey and losing its texture. When I stepped forward, the dirt under my feet puffed up, as if it had the same consistency as fine powder.

  That, that Priest—I couldn’t think of a curse harsh enough to describe him. He hadn’t just tapped into some latent power of the earth! He’d directly connected to a ley line.

  My hands clenched into tight fists, nails digging into the skin of my palms. “That idiot!” I snarled.

  “Garth?” Shad watched me with a considerable amount of caution. I imagine someone watching an approaching thunderstorm would have the same expression on his face. “What are you seeing?”

  “That gleeking imbecile broke every rule I can think of.” My voice emerged in a harsh rasp. “Not only did he think he could just borrow the powers of a Mage, he connected directly to a ley line!”

  Shad digested this for a moment. “I take it that’s bad?”

  “Let me put it this way: not even I would dare to do such a thing. Ley lines are the direct power source of the earth. It would be like a mere mortal trying to capture lightning and harnessing it.”

  “That’s pretty stupid,” Shad agreed with a wince. “No wonder he got fried. So? What side effects are we looking at?”

  “Aside from this part of Chahir dying by inches, you mean?” I gave a grim shake of the head. “Everything tied to that ley line is going to be affected. It might take years to recover this portion of land.” A worse thought occurred to me, something I didn’t even want to think about, much less say out loud. What if other Priests had figured out this same trick? Without knowing of the consequences, would they try it too? How many ley lines would they drain or destroy beyond recognition before they realized what was going on?

  How much of Chahir would they ravage in this insane bid for power?

  “It’s like the Magic War all over again,” I breathed in horror.

  “Can you fix it?” Night was looking around him in worry.

  It was a practical question and one that I didn’t have a good answer to. “I wish I could. I can help, certainly, but I don’t understand enough of nature to do any sort of reconstruction work.” What I needed was a Gardener, but I had no idea how to call one up. Mores the pity.

  I spent an hour doing what I could to help the land itself. It was a sort of a patchwork job, and nowhere near perfect, but my knowledge was so limited on ley lines that I wasn’t sure what else to do without messing everything up. I coaxed two other nearby ley lines into giving some power back to the drained line, enough to revive it. What little power I felt like safely handling went directly into the soil. I spread it about as if it were fertilizer—which, in a sense, it was. I could not see any immediate effects to my efforts but I didn’t dare do more. Just tapping into a ley line as I did made my stomach do flip-flops and my heart tremble in terror. Touching power that strong would make any sane man quake.

  Still, I felt a little satisfaction in my work. It would take perhaps another decade or so before it gained enough strength to fully support the life around it, but that line would recover eventually.

  A Gardener would do a better job, certainly. I was praying that they would show up soon and fix everything. This was just a temporary patch to keep everything from dying before they could notice there was a problem in this region.

  Darkness had settled in by the time I finished. I stood up, brushing dirt off my knees and hands as I moved. “That’s all I can do,” I told Shad and Night with a heavy sigh. “It’ll recover eventually.”

  Shad, not being able to see what I was doing for the past hour, obviously decided to just take my word for it. “Right. What next? Back to Hain?”

  “No.” I bared my teeth in a feral smile. “I think we need to go pay a little visit to Vonlorisen.”

  ~*~

  It was very late at night when we arrived at the Chahiran Palace. Most of the city lay asleep already or headed in that direction. There was still some activity
in the Palace, but not much.

  I had met Vonlorisen enough times now that I could tell him apart from other non-magical people. He was sitting alone in a room. My predatory smile went up a notch. Perfect. Lucky for me the entire palace is one floor. Makes popping in and out easier. I chose to bring Shad, Night and I back up to the surface about two feet from where he was. Which, incidentally, was in front of his desk, a heavy, carved piece piled with papers.

  Vonlorisen jerked in his chair at our abrupt arrival, nearly tipping the monstrous chair he sat in backwards.

  “Magus!”

  “We need to have a little chat, Vonlorisen.”

  Shad, behind me, took up a resting position with his back to the wall, an assassin in the shadows. Night chose to back up a few steps, too.

  Vonlorisen’s gaze searched my face, composure regained, before they widened in alarm.

  “Nolan? Is there something wrong with Nolan?”

  “Nolan is fine, Vonlorisen. It’s yourself you should be concerned about.”

  Vonlorisen’s hands had eased their white knuckled grip on the desk with the news that Nolan was fine, but his whole body stilled dangerously, back straight, hands spread flat on the desk, face hard.

  “Explain yourself,” he said softly.

  If my own anger hadn’t been so great, the threat in his voice might have been vaguely terrifying.

  I started from where the team had been attacked and told the whole story until I reached my discovery not a half hour before. The firelight cast dancing shadows across the king’s face, oddly creating the appearance of stone rather than softening the features.

  “They have to be stopped,” I stated with cold finality. “If they continue to do this, not only will they be destroying Chahir and making it inhabitable, it will start the Magic War all over again.”

  “Magus.” He took in a deep breath. “Are you telling me that the Star Order Priests have somehow found a way to gain temporary magical power?”

  I blinked at him quite stupidly for several moments. Did he not know…? Judging from the expression on his face, he really didn’t. “Your Majesty, the Star Order is magical.”