by Guy Antibes
“I’m sorry if I don’t stand to greet you,” Honor said, not being able to twist around.
Nullia ordered her helpers to move her on the other side of the tent and lift the back flaps up. “You look worse than I do.”
“Then just wait,” Honor said. “I’ll get better, but it might take awhile. I’ve never known anyone to survive a bolt like I did. Thanks to Tembul, I live to describe the pain.” She chuckled, but that turned into a wince. “I can’t do anything that causes much shaking.”
“Poor girl,” Nullia said.
Trak withdrew as the pair began to exchange their experiences of the past few months. Valanna joined the two women and that left Trak alone. He retreated back to the edge of the flyer.
Misson took the place Valanna left behind. “Leave as soon as you can,” he said. “I wouldn’t wait until morning. It wouldn’t do for the General to try to restrain you. That would make things very awkward. You don’t have to worry about the friends you’ve left behind.” Misson slapped his hand on Trak’s knee. “Keep care, and always be aware of your surroundings, just like I taught you. Trust no one at first meeting, and I suggest that you be wary of all Toryans. You rely on yourself, all right? May we see each other again in friendly circumstances.” He slipped off the flyer and walked into the darkness.
Trak saw a rising full moon at the edge of the evening sky. That would be enough light to fly. He walked over to Neel, Tembul and Sirul, all hunched over a campfire of their own.
“Let’s leave as soon as you load your things on my flyer,” Trak said. “There might be some unpleasantness if we stay, according to Misson Dalistro. How long will you be?”
Neel shrugged. “We are all ready, waiting for the dawn. I’ll write some letters to send on our way to Kizru. Can we rely Toryan messengers that they will make it to our friends, Tembul?”
“If you make them short and unremarkable,” the Toryan said.
“Very well. There is no sense in drawing out our goodbyes, agreed?” Neel said.
Trak looked over to Valanna and sighed. “I guess not.”
Minutes later, Trak looked back as he made the wind pose, leaving his friends behind. He hadn’t been able to say anything to Ben or Kulara. Trak wished he could have spoken to Valanna long enough to mention his portfolio, but he knew when Asem expected to be in Amorim. Trak would do everything he could to meet up with them before he headed for his months-long journey to rescue a Toryan princess.
~~~
Chapter Thirty-One
~
“Able!” Trak said as he entered a small house surrounded by a pretty garden. Fall was coming, but the plants still seemed to be thriving.
“Ah, Neel and Trak. You have arrived at last. I have been in a velvet prison, but,” Able grinned, “I have put my time to good use. We are now partners in a Kizru tavern selling Pestlan-style beer and ale.”
Neel laughed. “Are you sure ‘velvet’ is the right term to use for your prison?”
Able moved his head back and forth, as if he weighed Neel’s words. “No. I am locked up or under guard all day long, and it’s a bit tedious, but I’m not suffering at all. Sit. Tell me about your adventures. How did the war go? I guess the Loyalists must have won, since you are both here in one piece.”
“Indeed we did,” Neel said. “Trak proved out the day and beat that Black Master behind it all in a magician’s duel. I’ve never seen such a thing in my life. Trak can tell you about it.” Neel smiled at Trak. “Honor was nearly killed, but she made it through. She’ll be recovering in Espozia, courtesy of Misson Dalistro. I never noticed it before, but there might be a soft spot in that crafty spy’s heart for my sister.”
Able slapped Neel on the shoulder. “No!” He laughed. “Valanna?” Able looked over at Trak.
Trak sighed. “She’s headed back to Warish. If I can get started quickly, I can meet her in Amorim.”
“I’ve been there once. Be on your toes, it can be a harsh place to do business, but it is the freest city you’ll find on the Pestlan continent,” Able said.
Neel nodded. “I haven’t had the pleasure to visit, but Ben’s right, Trak. When did Tembul say you could leave?”
“It depends on where Lenis is. Tembul seems to think he can convince the king to send Lenis, Sirul, him, and me to Bennin.”
“No ladies to escort the princess out?” Neel said.
Trak shrugged. “I don’t know anything about that.”
Neel put his arm on Trak’s shoulder. “You might want to think about it at some point.”
~
Two days later, Trak stood with Neel and Able at Able’s house. Trak had found out the evening before that Neel would have to join Able as a hostage in Able’s ‘velvet prison’ while Trak was away. His father seemed to take the news in stride. Trak set down in Able’s garden with Tembul, Sirul, and Lenis accompanying him in the flyer Able and Neel came out to talk to them. Guards stood just out of earshot.
“Let’s see? I am free to drink much better stuff than the swill they make in Kizru and Able, my best drinking partner, can join me whenever he wishes,” Neel said. “Don’t worry about us. As long as we aren’t mistreated, I can stay here as long as needed.”
Trak didn’t think Neel told him the truth, but he merely accepted his father’s words. At least Able shared his prison with a friend.
“We leave right now from here,” Trak said. “We take the flyer south to a secret port the Toryans use. I’ll be blindfolded some of the time.” Trak shook his head. “Why are all of their cities some big secret?”
Neel shrugged his shoulders. “You think I know?”
Lenis gave an impatient snort. Trak figured that the Toryan wanted everyone to know he was present. Trak still found him an insufferable traveling companion, but he wasn’t in a position to complain, not with Able and Neel under guard.
He gave his two fathers a hug. Sirul shook Neel’s hand, as did Tembul. Lenis stood with his arms folded in the flyer, ignoring the farewell.
“At least I’ll have plenty of time to learn Toryan,” Trak said as he left his two fathers standing by the house.
Trak waved while Sirul blindfolded him, and then Tembul raised the flyer off the ground.
~
They traveled for hours with Trak providing the propulsion, using verbal instructions from Tembul. Finally the blindfold was removed, and Tembul pointed out a clearing where they spent the night outside listening to Lenis’s constant grumbling. At least Trak didn’t understand a word Lenis said.
The next day Trak increased their speed until Tembul had him stop, high above the forest. They had to be deep into Colcan by now.
Tembul pulled out a blindfold. “Follow my instructions. From here on you are not to know where you are going.”
Trak wasn’t allowed to remove the blindfold. When Tembul ordered Trak to descend, he pulled the blindfold off as the flyer met the ground. Trak blinked his eyes and looked around
Dark gray cliffs surrounded a small city that ran down to a dark sand shingle. Four piers jutted out into a larger than expected bay, still surrounded by the cliffs.
“A secret port,” he said.
“All that we do is secret,” Lenis said. Tembul translated as Lenis turned away from Trak.
“We stay the night. The tide goes out just before dawn. We have to be on that ship.” Trak followed Tembul’s finger towards a small vessel, hardly large enough to call a ship. “That will take us to Amorim. We should be there long enough to find another ship to take us all the way to Bennin. I am hopeful you can reunite with your girl.”
Trak shook his head. “Hardly my girl,” he said. “We’ve never been together for long, but I would like to spend a bit more time with her before we leave.”
“She is your girl, well enough, even if your paths never cross again,” Tembul said. “I sense a destiny for you both, connected, but perhaps not always together.”
Trak agreed. “Definitely not together.” He suddenly felt deflated. Any number of th
ings might happen to cause either party to miss a possible rendezvous.
~~~
Chapter Thirty-Two
~
Trak wandered the streets of Amorim in the pale morning night, beating his companions off the ship. They had put in before dawn. The few lonely lights that lit up the city, didn’t beckon, so Trak waited until the clear light of an early autumn day defined the features of the town.
He walked into the harbormaster’s messy office.
“I wonder if Asem Ferezan arrived from Nikia in Santasia recently?” Trak said in Pestlan.
“Ah, Prince Asem? He graced us with his presence three days ago.” The harbormaster replied in broken Pestlan and squinted at Trak with suspicion in his eyes.
“I was with him in Santasia and am on my way to Bennin. He suggested that we should meet in Amorim before he continued on his way to Balbaam and I to Bennin.”
“You can find him at the palace. It is in the center of town. Tallest building. You can’t miss it.”
Trak bowed to the man and left. He quickly made his way through the streets of Amorim to the palace. The city was clean enough, but old. It reminded him a bit of the Ozitzian side of Espozia, but more affluent overall. He couldn’t really miss the palace. The walls shone in the golden light of dawn.
He told a guard his name as they tried to communicate to each other, one in Warish and one in Pestlan. The man hustled Trak inside and handed him off to another Warishian, who dressed much better.
Trak looked around the room he had been shown. He had never been exposed to the trappings of the Warish, and the silk walls of sheer brightly-colored panels surprised him. He expected animal skins and even animals roaming around inside the palace. He sat down on a low couch, uncomfortable to him, and waited.
Asem, Kulara and Valanna entered the room after about an hour dressed quite differently than when he last saw them. Valanna and Kulara wore flowing silk dresses, and Asem appeared with polished brass armor bits over his own silk robes. Nothing fit tightly on any of them. To Trak, they all looked like they might be ready to retire for the evening.
“We were told a few moments ago after our breakfast that you had come,” Asem said. “I apologize for the servants’ lack of respect towards you.” He bowed to Trak, who still struggled to stand after sitting so low.
“My traveling companions are searching for a ship to take us to Bennin. They don’t expect a long wait, so I have limited time.”
Asem frowned. “Alas, we don’t either.” He pulled a scroll from the robe that he wore. “We have been commanded to leave for Balbaam this afternoon.”
Trak’s smile disappeared. He had built an expectation of a few days strolling in the sun on city streets with Valanna. That wouldn’t happen now.
Kulara took Valanna’s hand and Trak’s hand and joined them together. “You have the rest of the morning to talk. Please do so. Asem and I will make all of the travel preparations while you have a nice discussion. We will have a nice midday meal and then,” Kulara sighed, “we will return to the complexities of the Warishian court.”
Trak looked down at Valanna’s hand in his. He squeezed hers and she quickly withdrew her hand.
Valanna looked more flustered than she had on the battlefield. Her confidence seemed to have disappeared along with Trak’s high expectations.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “It appears that we always meet so we can part.” Valanna gave him a weak smile, but then she took his hand in both of hers. “I’m sorry that I did that. Would you sit?”
Trak looked at the low couch again and plopped down. Valanna still held his hand and made the effort appear much more graceful than he did.
“My trip to Santasia now seems more like a dream,” she said. Trak sensed discomfort and anxiety in her voice. “I have to return to my life.”
“Return to your life? You just had a number of adventures, and now it seems like a dream?” Trak felt frustrated. What happened to the spine of steel that he had noticed in Santasia? How could she have regressed so quickly? “Are you afraid to be back in Warish?”
Valanna looked into his eyes. “I lost my freedom the minute I stepped off of the ship,” she said. “Kulara knows how I feel.”
Trak furrowed his brow. “What do you feel?”
“I am afraid. Asem thought he could spend some time here to let us re-acclimate to the Ferezan culture, but it was not to be,” she said. “I have an audience with King Marom as soon as possible. One does not keep the king waiting unnecessarily.”
“But what about us?” Trak said, regretting his comment the instant he said it.
“There is no us. Can’t you see? Not now and maybe not ever. That was another delusion that Asem let fester inside me while away from here. Warish owns me. I’m not free like you are. I’m sorry, Trak.” Her eyes were beginning to water.
Trak struggled to stand. He rolled off of the cushions and onto the floor, and then hastily fought his way to his feet. Embarrassment and hurt seemed to overwhelm him. Trak didn’t know what to do or how to react, so retreat seemed to be the only path. “Then I have no expectations and no reason to stay.” He could hardly breathe. The last few minutes seemed like an awful nightmare. “Give my regards to Asem and Kulara.” He left Valanna sitting on the couch.
Trak closed the door and heard Valanna burst into sobs. He wanted to return to her side and comfort her, but he felt so inadequate. What could he say? His mind went blank as he staggered out of the palace and fled back down to the docks.
His dreams of reuniting with Valanna were shattered, and a shock of loneliness overwhelmed him as he dropped onto a bench, looking at the ships lined up waiting to go to sea. He instantly regretted giving her his portfolio, but he hadn’t the courage when he left to ask her to return it. He looked back at the palace and realized that he couldn’t end their relationship like this and rose to go back to Valanna.
Tembul ran up to him. “I’m glad you’re back. We’ve already transferred all our things. We found another ship and are leaving right now.” Tembul pulled Trak to his feet and led him to the large ship that would be his home for the months that would make up the voyage to Bennin. “I was told that we might have to wait up to a month if we don’t leave now. Let’s go!”
Tembul pulled Trak up from the bench and nearly dragged him over to a large ship busily preparing to leave port.
After he walked up the gangplank, he looked out over the city and stared at the large shining palace. Valanna might still be crying, for all he knew. He wiped away an errant tear of his own.
They would both be gone from Amorim before midday, and in some awful twisted way that might be for the best.
~~~~~
If you could, please leave a review ofMagician In Exilewhere you purchased this book. Guy will greatly appreciate it. To get further information on the next books on the Power of Poses series, visit Guy’s website at www.guyantibes.com
Excerpt from Book Three of the Power of Poses series
Magician in Captivity
~
Trak woke up in the early morning on the hard floor of their building. The sun hadn’t yet risen, but he could see well enough to notice that two of them had left their building. He crawled over to Tembul.
“It looks like Paka and Lenis have left us,” he said.
Tembul rose from his comforter and looked around the room. “He has gone. The shelf holding his belongings is empty.” He stood over a still-snoring Sirul. “Follow me.”
They walked to the main building. A lamp burned at a desk inside. Tembul leaned over the counter and called out.
“Where are two of those that accompanied us?” Tembul said in Pestlan.
The attendant stood, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “They left in the middle of the night. The Benninese paid for your companion’s bond and then they departed. They said you were going to follow once you found work?” He spoke better Pestlan than Trak would have thought.
“We still are,” Tembul said. “We’d like to lea
ve today. Are there any immediate openings in caravans heading south to Fukona?”
“Are you handy with weapons?”
Both Tembul and Trak nodded.
“Then you can always sign up as guards. A caravan leaves at noon today, heading the city of Peskoa. It is midway to Fukona and you can hook up with another caravan leaving for the capital from there. That is the fastest way to catch up with your friends.”
“The Benninese accompanied Lenis?” Trak said.
The attended nodded his head. “He did indeed. Your friend paid his bond as his Bonniness companion showed up with a carriage loaded down with provisions. It is a perilous journey for two, but...” The man shrugged his shoulders.
Trak looked at Tembul. He looked as angry as Trak felt. Lenis had been holding out on them. They had pooled their funds prior to leaving Amorim, but obviously, Lenis had quite a bit held in reserve. One part of him gladdened to see him go and another part worried about Lenis’s motivation. What would prompt him to leave Trak and Tembul. At least, Sirul still could identify the Princess for them. Lenis had started a race to Fukona and Trak had given him a head start. In addition, they had to try to figure out what Paka’s role in all of this had become.
Tembul and Trak had to win because of Neel and Able. Trak’s biological and adoptive fathers were held in Kizru, guaranteeing Trak’s return with the Princess. He had no idea what would happen to them if Lenis showed up with the woman and they didn’t.
~
The caravan didn’t match Trak’s expectation. He expected a flamboyant caravan master and a host of vicious looking guards shepherding the merchants across dangerous lands. This gaggle of wagons didn’t seem to be anything other than a group of merchants gathering together to travel through the verdant countryside with abundant protection. One of the merchants had been tasked with hiring a few guards.
“Ah. You wish to help us on our way to Peskoa?” the rotund merchant asked. “Are you good with your weapons?”