“That soldier recognized you anyway,” Hugo pointed out. “They seem to have been warned that we were coming.”
“True,” Cannon said, “but not until I got his attention. And technically, they knew that you were coming, not me. I think they thought I was you.”
“Weird, isn’t it?” Hugo said. “The city being full of people? I thought it would be just me and Shael in here.”
Cannon shrugged. “That would have made you easier to find, to be sure, but I am not surprised to find this place large and inhabited. Quantum spatial containers like the Panthion often have internal dimensions defined by the perceptions of its occupants rather than by what you would call actual size constraints. And this prison has been around for a while, so it is natural to find it full of unsavory characters. No doubt they were discarded by their fellows in the Ire, if they did not actually come here to be in Shael’s company.”
Hugo blinked. “Whatever,” he said. “What’s your plan to get out?”
“My plan?” Cannon said. “You’re the one who came in here first. I thought you would have a plan.”
“Nope. I just did it to save Lignumis.”
Cannon groaned. “Of course you did. Well, come take a look.”
Hugo stepped forward so that he could see around the stone footing of the bridge and saw that they had climbed high enough to see into the fortress from above. From here, Hugo could see that the sky mechanism was even more intricate than he had first thought.
“More impressive up close, isn’t it?” Cannon muttered bitterly.
“What is it?” Hugo asked.
“It has to be the way out,” Cannon said. “The gate or something. I think we’re looking at the bottom of the lid.”
“That’s what I thought too,” Hugo said. “Quite a bit bigger when you’re inside it,” he mused.
Cannon shrugged. “That’s magic for you.” He pointed at the Mechanism in the clouds. “That’s our way out. And it looks like it’s only accessible from the towers of Shael’s fortress. Figures.”
Hugo was shaking his head. “Let’s be honest with ourselves here. What makes you think we’ll be able to find a way out of the Panthion when Shael himself hasn’t been able to do it after all this time?”
Cannon looked suddenly serious. “Maybe we will. Maybe we won’t. Either way, we have to try. Of course, you could always just walk in and have a chat with Shael. After all, that’s why he brought you here in the first place.”
Hugo smiled grimly. “That may end up happening anyway if we can’t get out of here soon.” He glanced back at the fortress and something twitched in his mind. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and he had the odd sense that Shael could tell that he was looking in his direction. It was as if they were feeling each other from a great distance.
Without warning, Hugo heard his own name in his head.
Hugo.
The voice was soft, low, and oddly persuasive, and Hugo found himself feeling suddenly proud of who he was, confident in his power as a mage, and less and less worried at the prospect of meeting Shael. It was as if he were hearing his name pronounced correctly for the first time in his life.
“Hugo,” Cannon said, tapping him on the shoulder. “We were trying to think of a plan.”
“Right,” Hugo said. “Exactly. Have to try.” He was trying to remember what the voice had sounded like, and how it had made him feel about himself. Something about that train of thought made Molad stir, and Hugo quickly put the blindfold back on. “What’s our best chance at getting in?”
“Well, they’ll probably just let us in, won’t they?” said Cannon. “The way those soldiers were acting, it sounds like Shael gave them orders to.”
“But we’re not actually going to see him,” Hugo said.
“Obviously not,” Cannon said. “But we might as well enter under the pretense of meeting with him and then give our escorts the slip. It would be much easier than breaking in by ourselves.”
“Fair enough,” Hugo agreed. “So after we’re inside the fortress, we make a break for the highest tower and hope that it leads us to that mechanism thing, and that we can somehow get though it and escape the Panthion, even though Shael—who by the way is probably more powerful than both of us put together, especially since our powers don’t seem to work well in here—has never figured it out. And we manage to do all this while avoiding being captured by all these soldiers. That’s our plan?”
Cannon scratched his head thoughtfully. “When you put it that way, I start to see some problems.”
“No kidding.” They discussed it a while longer and eventually arrived at a decision. They would do what they always did: blaze ahead and hope they stumbled into success. Hugo stood up and slapped Cannon on the shoulder. “It was nice of you to come in after me. Stupid, but nice. I hope you get out.”
“I hope we both get out,” Cannon agreed, and led him back out into the light. Cannon sighed in exasperation as Hugo tripped again. “Hugo, you know you’re not going to be able to wear that thing the whole time, right?”
“I know,” Hugo said. “But I’m going to leave it on as long as I can. Molad gets more and more excited the more he sees of this place, and I don’t know how long I’ll be able to withstand him when he decides it’s time to take control.”
“As I said, I’ll try to knock you out if that happens,” Cannon said, and Hugo felt Molad twitch unpleasantly.
“That’s very kind of you,” Hugo said. “But you had better be quick about it. I don’t think he likes you very much.”
“Oh!” Cannon exclaimed, and Hugo lifted the handkerchief from his eyes curiously. “I forgot. The Magemother asked me to give this to you.” He handed Hugo the black stone that Molad had abandoned the day before. “She said that she put a bit of herself inside it. Said it might help.”
“Right,” Hugo said, taking it. “Thank you.”
They stared at one another awkwardly for a moment, the stone resting in his hand between them, and then Hugo shoved it in his pocket and lowered the blindfold again. “I’ll have a look at it later, I guess.”
“Right,” Cannon said, and they headed off toward the fortress.
Finding an escort inside was even easier than they thought. A whole line of guards was waiting for them at the spot where their little side street joined up with the main road to the fortress. When Hugo peeked beneath his blindfold, he saw that these guards were creatures of a similar sort to those at the main gate, except that they were not so heavily armored. A thin leather breastplate revealed more about them, and Hugo could see that they were less bird and more human than he had first thought, though their legs were strangely angled at the knee. He wondered vaguely if that helped them run faster.
These soldiers all wore helmets, except for their leader, and Hugo could see that his face was mostly human, though he had short, oily feathers where hair and a beard would normally be. From his expression, Hugo assumed he was going to handcuff them and take them before Shael as prisoners. In the end, he treated them with the same respect that they had encountered earlier, though he clearly wasn’t happy about it. And he did make them walk in the center of the soldiers.
It wasn’t long before they reached the main gate. He peeked under his blindfold once again when he heard Cannon inhale sharply. Sure enough, the gate was very impressive. It was easily as tall as ten men, and wide enough for six or seven large horse carts to pass through side by side. Surprisingly, it stood wide open, guarded by a mere handful of soldiers. Apparently Shael wasn’t worried about being attacked.
When they passed through the gate, the air cooled, and Hugo felt Molad becoming more alert. We are here, he said in Hugo’s mind. We’re finally here! Molad lurched forward and Hugo felt his mind go nearly blank, only just managing to maintain control.
Despite the serious nature of his predicament, Hugo couldn’t help feeling a bit impressed with himself. Only a day or two before, such an effort from Molad would have easily overpowered him. The blindfold
was making it easy for him to remain constantly aware of Molad, and sensing his opponent’s intentions before he acted seemed to make all the difference.
I don’t think so, Hugo said. It’s not time for you to come out yet. It never will be again, if I have my way.
You can’t keep me in here forever, Molad said. When Shael calls me, you will not be able to resist.
We’ll see, Hugo said, but in truth he knew Molad was right about that. If he ended up face to face with Shael, it would be all over.
“This way,” a soldier said. “Watch your step.”
Cannon nudged Hugo’s shoulder, and Hugo removed his blindfold. Folding it carefully and tucking it in his pocket, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Molad lurched with excitement, and Hugo pushed him back into place. They were in a long hallway with tall, narrow windows. Cannon was on Hugo’s right, with four guards in front of them, and a guard on either side. Going forward was out of the question; it wouldn’t make sense to break free just to flee in the direction they were being taken. It would probably lead them straight to Shael. He didn’t want to go back either. That left the windows. They only had to break through a single guard to the side. There was no glass, just a narrow slit in the stone, and he was sure he could fit through it. Beyond the windows to his left, he could see the base of what looked like one of the tall towers they had seen from the bridge outside. That decided it.
“Now?” Hugo whispered, wishing bitterly for his sword again.
“Might as well,” Cannon said.
“To the side,” Hugo said, and he saw Cannon nod out of the corner of his eye.
At the same moment, with remarkable synchronization given that they had not discussed their plans aloud, Hugo and Cannon both flung themselves directly at the guard to either side of them. Hugo caught his guard squarely in the gut with his shoulders, spun him against the wall, and punched him once in the back for good measure before stepping to the window. He glanced back briefly to see Cannon jumping out of his own window, then ducked the outreaching arms of a guard and slipped off the ledge.
The soft ground that Hugo had been hoping for did not materialize, and twelve feet later he landed painfully in an open stone square. He tucked and rolled to absorb the fall but his elbow cracked sharply against the ground and he cursed under his breath. The large tower he had glimpsed from above now lay ahead of him, but several buildings still separated him from it. He looked back, expecting to see Cannon behind him, but found a solid wall there instead. He grunted in frustration. No doubt Cannon was in a similar courtyard on the other side of the wall. He heard a noise and glanced up to see one of the soldiers attempting to squeeze through the window without success. He was stuck now, and two of his fellow soldiers were trying to extract him while their leader was screaming for them to take the stairs.
Hugo sped off toward the opposite end of the courtyard and took a door at random, hoping it would lead him to the tower.
It led him into a root cellar instead.
Berating himself for not coming up with a better plan, he returned to the courtyard and took the next door over. Just as he was closing it behind him, he heard the sound of voices outside. The soldiers had made it down.
“There! I saw him go through there!”
Hugo slammed the door and flew down the stone stairs before him. He took the first door he came to and rushed through the series of rooms behind it, taking turn after turn at random in the hopes that it would make it more difficult for his pursuers to find him. After his seventh random turn, he ran headlong into a boy carrying a tray of dishes. The boy shouted and went flying, and several of the dishes broke against the stone floor. Hugo landed painfully on one knee, and then he was running again. At the end of the hall he came to a particularly strong-looking door and spun through it, slamming it shut and turning the key in the lock before he even looked around the room that he had entered.
As soon as he did, he knew he was in trouble.
He was in a spacious, formal antechamber. Several large hallways led into it and a grand staircase curved up to a second floor. There was a set of grand doors opposite him, and Hugo knew instinctively that they would lead to the throne room. He knew something about castles (he had grown up in one, after all), and this room was just like the grand hall in Caraway Castle. It was the tapestries and the mirrors and the dozen or so guards that gave it away.
One of the guards began to approach Hugo as soon as he appeared, and several others stepped into the middle of the various hallways, just to make sure that he knew he wasn’t allowed to leave. Several of the guards carried fancy poleaxes, while others had a sword and shield. Hugo was feeling the absence of his own sword again.
The guard that had been approaching him drew his sword when he got close and gestured for Hugo to head for the big doors. The throne room. There was no doubt in his mind about what was waiting for him in there.
Hugo looked around for a way out, but didn’t see one. Finally he gave up and started walking. Hopefully Cannon was having more success.
The guard opened the door, and Hugo looked away as Molad came alive with want. Yes, yes! We are here at last!
Hugo tied the blindfold over his eyes tightly and strode into the chamber, trying not to appear as if he would rather be anywhere else in the world.
Chapter Four
In which Tabitha nearly eats a cat
Archibald took his leave of the king of Aberdeen one hour before he was supposed to meet Brinley at the Bridge to Nowhere. When he entered his tent, there was someone waiting for him.
“You’re late,” Tabitha said.
“I beg your pardon,” Archibald said, removing his bowler hat. “Did we have an appointment?”
Tabitha looked confused. “No, but I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Ah,” Archibald said awkwardly. “I see. Is there something…”
“I’m not going!” Tabitha wailed.
“Oh,” Archibald said carefully. “She asked you to remain behind.”
“I have to do secret things for her,” Tabitha said, drawing a hand across her face and gazing into the corner mysteriously.
Archibald bit off a laugh. “Well,” he began, still wondering why Tabitha was in his tent, “I suppose you are worried about her safety?”
Tabitha nodded, tears springing into her eyes. “How am I supposed to protect her if she won’t let me?”
“Well…” Archibald faltered. He took her hand. “I suppose I’ll have to, since you can’t be there.” He patted her hand kindly. “But let us talk no more of it. I wonder if you can help me with something.”
She sniffed and wiped away a tear. “What?”
“Well…” Archibald began, “I don’t know how to say it. You are the only one who knows my secret. But…I think the time has come for me to tell her.”
Tabitha’s eyes went wide. “Your secret? You mean,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “that you’re her real father and that you didn’t mean for her to ever be hidden away from you and that you missed her all these years and you just didn’t know how to tell her when she came back?”
Archibald blinked. “Well—that is to say—yes. Just so.”
Tabitha cocked her head curiously. “Archibald, why didn’t you tell her earlier?”
Archibald shook his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “At first, she had so much to worry about. Then, well…She already has a father,” he said, as if each word caused him pain. “One who loves her and cared for her. Me, she never knew. I was never there for her.”
Tabitha looked confused. “But that’s not your fault, Archibald.”
Archibald frowned as he waited for her to say something else, then he smiled. “Thank you,” he said. “You’re right, of course. We must all cast our personal fears aside when the time for action comes. We all have to give up a little safety now and then in order to get something even better, don’t we? Well then…” He led her out of the tent. “Go to her now,” he said in farewell. “Tell her I will mee
t her soon.”
Archibald let the tent flap close behind him, turned his tea kettle on, and sank onto his bed with a smile on his face. He wondered what it would be like to live life with Tabitha’s childlike mind. He remembered his own child then, and felt a sudden wave of anxiety. He wasn’t used to being anxious. He wasn’t used to being particularly fearful about anything. It had been a long time since he had felt less than up to the challenge in any aspect of his life, but all that had changed when Brinley had appeared. Ever since he had realized that she was his long-lost daughter, that he was still a father, life had been full of questions.
A breeze rustled the door of his tent. A wisp of wind filtered through the flap, curled once in the air and solidified into the Mage of Wind.
“Animus!” Archibald exclaimed, leaping to his feet. “A thousand pardons. I—”
“Nonsense, Archibald,” Animus interrupted politely. “It is I who have disturbed you.”
“Sit, sit,” Archibald said, offering Animus the only chair and pressing the wrinkles out of his bedcover. “What brings you back from Calderon? No, pardon me again—not my business—how may I be of service to the Mage of Wind?”
“May I join you in a cup of tea?” Animus asked, eyeing the kettle in the corner as it began to whistle.
“Yes, of course,” Archibald said, and rose to pour it.
“That was a very interesting conversation you just had with the Magemother’s Herald,” Animus said casually.
Archibald missed the cup and poured tea on himself. He let out a small cry of pain and plunged his burned hand into the cold water of his washbasin. “You heard that?” he asked, through gritted teeth.
Animus interlaced his fingers. “The wind hears many things, often unintentionally.”
Archibald nodded, returning to the tea. “I hope I have not lost your trust,” he said, handing a cup to Animus.
“On the contrary, I have come to see you precisely because I trust you.” Animus took a sip and winced. Then he blew on the cup and the surface crusted over briefly with ice before melting into the tea. He took another sip. “That’s better,” he said. “Now, as I understand it, you leave with the Magemother for Inveress within the hour, along with Unda and Lignumis.”
Magemother: The Complete Series (A Fantasy Adventure Book Series for Kids of All Ages) Page 62