I’m surprised that two six year olds managed to get here without getting lost, frankly. That they misjudged the distance wasn’t much of a surprise. I grabbed the halter to the mare that had been grazing nearby, wrapped us all up in magic, and took us down to the earth path. As soon as we were on our way I looked over my shoulder to ask, “And why did you come all the way here? There are lots of wild meurittas in Del’Hain, y’know.”
“Really?” Nolan looked at the meuritta in his arms and then at Trev’nor. “So we didn’t have to come all the way here?”
“But where did Chatta get hers?” Trev’nor objected. “Wasn’t it in a forest?”
“No, it was in Del’Hain. At the Academy, actually.” I could just see them evaluate the day and wondering if this was a wasted trip. They could have stayed in the city, gotten a meuritta, and not been in trouble, if they had only known. In a purely adult moment, I couldn’t help but add, “Let this be a lesson to you, boys. Ask more questions when you’re researching something.”
Trev’nor gave a solemn nod. “Yeah. We’ll do that.”
“But I think it’s good we came,” Nolan refuted after a beat. “These are the right meurittas for us. And it was a fun day!”
“Yeah, it was!” Trev’nor agreed with matching enthusiasm.
No regret, huh? And whatever punishment their guardians came up with probably wouldn’t make much of a dent either. Raising these two was going to be real fun.
I delivered both boys to their unhappy guardians and quickly vacated the vicinity. I had nothing to do with this road trip and I wanted nothing to do with the repercussions.
Since it was late, I decided to spend the night in my own set of rooms instead of going all the way back to my parent’s house. I’d just call by mirror, check on everyone, tell Night where I was, and crash. It had been a very long day, and the previous three had been rather harrowing as well, so I was looking forward to some uninterrupted sleep.
Not five feet in the door, the large oval mirror on my wall lit up and an irate voice demanded, “GARTH, are you finally home?!”
That was Kartal’s voice.
Kartal only calls me when he has something he wants me to do; something that usually takes up a lot of energy which is why he didn’t already do it.
I groaned, rubbing at both temples to futilely suppress a headache. It was a mistake to have Chatta charm that mirror to communicate with. I see that now. As soon as possible, I’ll chuck the thing out the nearest window.
“GARTH! I can hear you breathing; I know you’re in there! Now answer me, curse you!”
Like a man walking the plank, I trudged over in front of the mirror and touched it. “Yes, Kartal?” I sighed.
“I have been calling you all day, where have you been?”
Ah, that explains why he’s in such a bad mood. Kartal has no patience when it comes to waiting for other people. “Sojavel Ra, Coven Ordan, Chahir, Del’Hain, and then to Chatta’s house before I had to go hunt down Nolan and Trev’nor,” I listed precisely. “Now, what do you want?”
There was a digestive silence on the other end. “What by all magic were you doing going from Coven Ordan to Chahir?”
Why couldn’t he just get to the point? I pinched the bridge of my nose and started praying for patience. “Long story, I’ll tell you later. What do you want, Kartal?”
“All of those crystals that you dropped off at the Sojavel Ra Institute have been under major study. Only some of them are sealed with an Earth Mage’s power—at least I think it is, since it seems very similar to your power. Get down here and unlock them.”
I suppressed a growl. Demanding little… “I’ll try to come tomorrow. No guarantees.”
“Can’t you come down now?”
“No.”
“But I can’t do anything until you get down here!” he protested in frustration.
“It’s night anyway,” I pointed out sarcastically, “shouldn’t you be going to bed?”
“Garth, it won’t take you five minutes once you’re down here—”
“Or so you’re assuming,” I interrupted acidly. “I didn’t get a good look at anything that I gave to the Institute, and I have no experience undoing shields on crystals—”
“Ah but you have!” Kartal cut me off triumphantly. “You got that captain out, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, by melting it.”
“No matter. I believe you can still do it. Why can’t you come tonight?” he insisted.
My patience, not much to begin with, abruptly evaporated. “Kartal, I’m exhausted and already in a volatile mood! Stop pushing me. Or I will come down there and melt all of the crystals and you won’t have anything. I said I’d try to come when I can, and that’s that!”
“But—”
All right, that’s it. I’d had it. I snapped my fingers at a patch of my floor, which obediently melted away, leaving a hollow space behind. Without any sort of caution, I lifted the mirror off the wall and tossed it not at all gently into the hole.
“Garth, what’s that crashing noi—”
With another snap of the fingers, the floor flowed back into place, covering the mirror.
Blessed silence descended.
Satisfied, I toed off my boots and went about getting ready for bed. And I didn’t worry one whit about Kartal, either.
Chapter Sixteen: Exiled
In my life, I’ve faced a variety of unpleasant tasks. Cleaning the bathroom, for instance. Or working with Kartal. Whatever it had been, I have always had the opinion that it was better to just get it done and get it over with instead of having it loom over my head like a dark cloud.
Today, the cloud was the exile of the Chahiran Queen.
Night followed me out of the house and stayed quiet the first few minutes of the trip as we traveled along the earth path to Chahir. He’d had a late night last night, due to Shad’s mischief. Apparently the two were involved in an elaborate prank war. I didn’t want to know the details, and I certainly didn’t want to get involved, so I hadn’t asked what Shad had done. Whatever it was turned Night’s hair a vibrant pink. Fortunately, Asla (after laughing herself sick) had managed to undo it.
“Garth.”
“Hmmm?”
“How do you expect the Queen to react?”
“I’m not really sure,” I admitted. “Strip the power from her and she’s a vicious woman, I know that. I’m not sure if she’ll start screaming or trying to beat me with her fists, though.”
“Warning taken. You don’t really look happy about this.” The way he said it, it was almost a question.
I let out a heavy sigh. “No, not really. I don’t want to deal with her.”
“I don’t think any of us do.”
Unfortunately, he had a point.
Since Vonlorisen knew that we were coming, I chose to come up in the middle of his formal court. People scattered, screaming their heads off, as I rose out of the earth with Night. This was becoming so typical that I just watched their reactions and shrugged.
Vonlorisen rose to his feet, giving me an exasperated look. He didn’t address me, however, but turned to the people in the court and thundered out, “Hold! I have a declaration that must be made.” When people slowed, turning reluctantly toward him, he nodded in satisfaction. Only then did he bend his attention to me. “Magus, we have been anxiously awaiting your arrival.”
It was no hardship to translate his tone into words: what by the four winds took you so long?! Or something along those lines, anyway. I gave him a bow. “Your Majesty.” When I straightened, I caught a flash of silver standing to one side of the raised dais. My eyes snapped in that direction, my stomach filling with dread. This time, my luck hadn’t held. A Star Order Priest stood just at the queen’s shadow, watching the proceedings with cold eyes. He turned those eyes on me and I felt a shiver go up my spine. I had no doubt that the slightest provocation, he’d attack.
Without saying a word, he shifted the staff in his hand into a two-hand grip. Insti
nctively, I grabbed the bon’a’lon hanging on my waist and activated it. The blades hissed out as the weapon snapped out into its full extension.
I half-expected him to charge me, but he didn’t take a step. Instead, he rotated the staff in his hands and jammed the butt of it hard into the floor. “Sebachne teran, ragashi renz asara!”
Nothing he said made sense to me. It almost sounded Chahiran, but the dialect was so ancient that I couldn’t understand it. I had no time to puzzle out the words. A dark wave of magical energy washed over me, like a crashing wave, and then in the next instant a red, solid wall rose up around me. I half-turned in each direction, looking all around me in jerky motions. He had somehow activated a powerful barrier spell that rose up in a large cylindrical shape all around me. Even the stones under my feet radiated with the feel of blood magic. The walls were transparent, but I recognized the feel of them—they were like my weapon’s shield. If I dared to touch them, it would likely throw me backwards or even knock me unconscious.
Vonlorisen wheeled around, his mantle flaring out, and pointed an accusing finger at the Priest. “What did you do?!”
The Priest did not respond, as if he had no interest in anyone except the Queen.
“I told you, sire. They are magic users.” I pointed to the barrier all around me. “This is a shield, meant to keep me in place. If I touch it, it will cause me quite a bit of damage.”
Since I responded, Vonlorisen turned his attention to me. “You recognize this?”
“Not entirely. I’m basing most of my assumptions off of shields that I have encountered before. This feels similar to a magician’s weapon’s barrier. This particular shield doesn’t feel very old,” I frowned at the floor for a moment, trying to pinpoint its age, “so I would guess that they put the spell into the floor after my last visit here.”
Vonlorisen rounded on the Priest again. “Take it down!”
The Priest only cast him a glance. “I will not. He is a well-known magic user. As such, he is under our jurisdiction. I have the right to arrest him.”
“If you won’t do it,” Night snarled, tossing his head in an irritated gesture, “I will!”
Uh-oh. Night’s hopping mad. With a cautious look at him, I moved to the far side of the barrier and ducked down a bit, crouching on the floor. Night pivoted on his front legs, hind legs lashing out and impacting against the barrier with a sharp snap. For a moment, it sounded almost as if he had hit glass. I could even see cracks in the barrier for a split second before it exploded and dissolved in every direction.
The Priest flinched back, folding in on himself, the staff dropping to the ground from nerveless fingers. Before he could recover, I folded some of the stone flooring over him, locking him firmly into place. “Thanks, Night.”
He snorted in satisfaction, dancing a little in place.
The Priest started squirming on the floor, trying to either reach for something, or just get out of his stone shackle, I wasn’t sure. Either way, he wasn’t going anywhere. I snuck a peek at Vonlorisen as I stood back on my feet. He was staring at the captured Priest with disturbed fascination, as if he had never seen the man before. Even after my explanation of blood magic, it apparently took a live demonstration for the facts to really sink in. Vonkaraan rose to her feet, regarding me with blatant revulsion. I noticed a fine tremor to her voice, however, showing just how much my actions and the defeat of her pet Priest had rattled her. “Loris, what is the meaning of this? How can you possibly welcome such evil into your court?”
“If there is any evil in this room, woman, then it is of your doing,” Vonlorisen responded so coldly that the fine hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up.
Her head snapped around to stare at him, face resembling a gawping fish. “Me?”
“Yes, you! There is no other name for it but evil, to sacrifice your only grandson simply for the sake of your superstitious dogma. I’ve had as much of you as I can stomach. From this moment onward you are banished from Chahir—” There was a fierce, dead look to his eyes that spoke volumes of his determination to be rid of her.
She screeched in wordless denial, expression twisted and ugly. The crowd roiled with surprise, some people gasping, the others quickly muttering something behind their hands to their neighbors.
“—never to return. Magus Rhebengarthen will take you into custody and escort you to the place prepared for you. It is there that you shall live out the remainder of your days.” Vonlorisen nodded solemnly for to me to continue.
I barely managed to take a single step before she started screeching again. “Guards! Guards, restrain this man!”
“Halt!” Vonlorisen commanded with a sharp downward slash of the hand. “She has no authority to order you!”
There were roughly twenty or twenty-five guards stationed in the room, lining the walls at regular intervals. Of that number, five responded to the Queen’s order. The rest remained at their posts against the walls, looking at each other in obvious confusion. They weren’t entirely sure whom to obey.
I felt sorry for the five that advanced on me. Not only did they just prove where their loyalties lie—which would most likely get them kicked out of the guard and arrested later—but they didn’t stand a chance against me. I randomly started snapping my fingers. With each snap, a small, circular cage would pop up from the stone flooring, encircling each startled guard.
One of them was quick enough to dodge my attempt to cage him. Huh. He was nearly as fast as Shad—but only nearly. I could still stop him. With him, I simply turned the floor into the consistency of quicksand, halting him in his tracks. He started sinking, flailing about with his hands, and voicing a wordless exclamation of alarm.
Vonkaraan stumbled back, eyes wide with terror, as she looked around her. “Impossible,” she breathed.
“Hardly,” Vonlorisen observed in dark amusement. “His power is something that cannot be contained by mere mortals.”
And that made me, what? A demi-god? I snorted at the idea.
“Magus, I don’t mind you protecting yourself, but you can undo this, can’t you?” Vonlorisen waved a hand to indicate the caged guards and Priest. “I don’t have magicians handy like Guin Braehorn does to clean up this mess.”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” I responded in overly polite tones. “But do make sure they’re restrained after I release them. Otherwise Night will respond to protect me, and he’s more straightforward and…permanent in his methods.”
Vonlorisen nodded in understanding and gestured to the guards still on the wall. “Arrest them and shackle them once the Magus releases them.”
When I was sure that those soldiers would obey the orders given to them, I released my cages, letting the stone slowly sink back into the earth for effect, and solidified my make-shift quicksand bed. The five guardsmen were quickly disarmed, chained, and hauled unceremoniously out of the room.
Straightening, Vonlorisen looked at the jittery crowd, people nervously shifting from foot to foot, anxious to be away. His expression hardened.
“As you have seen with your own eyes, the Star Order are hypocrites. They are magic users, just like every other magician that is born in this country. They have hunted their own kind for centuries. Worse, they have killed or driven off any magician that would have stood up to them. They have abused their authority. We will no longer tolerate their actions. As of this moment, the Star Order is ordered to disband. All authority, power, and position they hold is forthwith stripped. Any Priest found to still be hunting magicians or in any way exceeding his status of a normal citizen will be arrested and promptly stripped of his magic.”
After the revelations of the past five minutes, I don’t think anyone in the room knew how to react to that. A stunned silence blanketed the room.
Vonlorisen nodded to Saroya. “Deal with him.”
Saroya gave a short, curt bow of acknowledgement. I shifted the stone back into its proper place so that the Head of the Special Forces could haul the ex-Priest up and dra
g him out of the room.
With all of the distractions gone, I turned my attention back towards Vonkaraan, with a confident look on my face.
“You wouldn’t dare.” Her expression and posture was haughty and aloof. She was brimming with self-righteous indignation, the very picture of an ice queen who felt assured of her position in life.
A false self-assurance, in this case. I shifted the bon’a’lon about until it I could point it toward her in clear threat. I certainly didn’t need the weapon, but seeing the alarmed panic on her face gave me a perverse satisfaction. “Woman, it requires no daring on my part.”
She drew in a shaky breath, chin lifting to a more arrogant level. “I am Queen of Chahir—”
“Perhaps the shock has compromised your hearing. You have lost all right to that title,” I cut her off coldly. Anger brimmed over in me. This woman had not only sicced a Priest on me, but she had to have plotted against me after my first visit here. The barrier on the floor was clear proof of that. Every muscle in my body tensed, radiating with the urge to deliver violence. “You have forgotten, in your arrogant pride, what true power is.”
“You think magical power is true power?” she spat back venomously.
“Hardly. I’m not referring to the type of power, but to the very nature of power itself. True power is not the might of dictators; it does not suffer the needs of greed or baseless anger. You’ve forgotten that a monarch only reigns at the sufferance of his people. The moment they misuse that power it will be taken from them.” I shook my head wearily. What good would it do to stay mad? She wouldn’t understand. Even Vonlorisen, who was honestly trying to shed the prejudice against magic, hadn’t really believed me until he saw it with his own eyes. “You forgot that your position as Queen was only appointed to you; it is not yours by right. You were chosen as a steward of this country. You have not proven to be a wise or a worthy steward, and hence you shall now be removed.”
“No,” she whispered hoarsely, eyes wide with horror. “No! I am Queen! You do not have the right!”
Advent (Advent Mage Cycle) Page 20